news-record.com

Homeowners who plan to sell in the spring may find it easier to get their asking prices and move their homes more quickly, a new report suggests.

Home sales in Greensboro began to improve during the latter part of 2009 after more than four years of steep drops in sales and price.

About 25 percent more homes — 740 — were sold in the fourth quarter of 2009 than were sold in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a new report from the Triad Multiple Listing Service.

“We’re seeing very positive signs in our market and we feel very, very fortunate that we’re in a much better situation than a lot of our peers across the country,” said Don Jud, the economist who prepared the report.

The year as a whole, however, saw a 15 percent drop in the number of homes sold compared with 2008. Prices were down 5.2 percent.

But it’s the quarterly report that gives Jud hope.

The report, which includes all of Greensboro and Guilford County except High Point and Jamestown, shows the price of the average home sold in the fourth quarter was up 2.1 percent from the fourth quarter a year ago to $181,656 . Jud used a formula called “quality adjustment” that includes a variety of housing characteristics that can make his figures more precise.

Nationally, the price of homes is down 2.7 percent in the past year, Jud reports.

But a surge in sales nationwide has dramatically eclipsed Greensboro. Nationally, existing home sales have increased by 42.1 percent between November 2009 and November 2008.

Because Greensboro did not experience a steep jump in prices during the real estate boom, however, the decline and subsequent rebound here also will be less pronounced, Jud said.

Perhaps even more significant to those who want to sell their homes quickly at a good price, the measure called the “spread” shows that homes were selling at more than 96 percent of the owner’s asking price in the fourth quarter, Jud reported. As recently as two years ago, sellers were barely getting 89 percent of their asking price.

Many recent sales were aided by the federal government’s $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that recently was extended to April 30, 2010. Jud warned that the market could soften when the credit ends.

The fact that sellers are getting the prices they want for homes may show a more realistic attitude on their part, said Bill Guill, the president of the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association .

He said Realtors have been working more closely with clients to temper their expectations so they won’t expect an inflated price.

“That is crucial for sellers,” Guill said, “trying to be aware of being realistic in their expectations.”

Jud reported that the average time a home stays on the market before selling is now 98.5 days compared with 106.6 days in the third quarter.

Home sellers still face challenges in the coming year, Jud noted.

In addition to the phase-out of the tax credit, Jud cautions that inflation could return to the economy and mortgage rates could rise.

But the biggest problem, Jud believes, is the large inventory of homes. Greensboro has so many homes on the market that it would take about 10 months to sell them all.

Although the number has declined steadily in the past year, Jud said, “the inventory that’s hanging on, that’s got to be a headwind.”

Contact Richard M. Barron at 373-7371 or richard.barron @news-record.com