Who would have guessed it? Where home sales are concerned, things are looking up in Androscoggin County, in Maine and in the country as a whole.
Around the country, housing sales rose 5 percent in December. It was nearly as good in Maine, as sales of single-family homes increased by 4.34 percent over the same time frame.
Behind the numbers might be simple confidence, and Realtors hope to see more of it.
“Consumers feel more secure in making decisions regarding home ownership when they feel more confident about the stability of the real estate market,” said Tina Lucas, president of the Maine Association of Realtors.
For Maine, the jump in numbers marks the sixth consecutive month that home sales remained in positive territory. The statewide median sales price eased 6.98 percent over the past year to $160,000. That MSP indicates that half the homes were sold for more and half sold for less.
In Androscoggin County, 177 homes were sold in 2011, up 7.2 percent from the year before, when 165 were sold. The median sales price in the county dropped from $129,900 to $128,000, according to the Maine Real Estate Information System.
The National Association of Realtors, which last month said it had overstated sales data by 14 percent from 2007 onwards, said December sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million.
November sales were revised down to 4.39 million, from an initially reported 4.42 million.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected sales at a 4.7 million-sale clip in December.
Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist, said lower mortgage rates, improved jobs conditions and rising rents have helped lift sales figures, though he noted that December 2010 also was strong before petering out later.
For all of 2011, sales edged up 1.7 percent to 4.26 million — compared to the 2005 peak of 7.08 million.
Median sales prices in December fell 2.5 percent from the same period of 2010 to $164,500.
Inventories — generally low in the winter months — fell 9.2 percent to 2.38 million, the lowest since March 2005, which represents 6.2 months of supply. The months of supply of inventory were the lowest inventory since April 2006.
Distressed sales accounted for 32 percent of sales, up from 29 percent in November.
Data also suggested continued tough financing conditions, something the Federal Reserve lamented in a recent white paper on the housing market.
All-cash transactions represented 31 percent of purchases, up from 28 percent in November, and first-time buyers accounted for 31 percent of all transactions, down from 35 percent in November and from a normal rate of around 40 percent.
Despite a rally in home-building stocks and exchange-traded funds, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch say a turn in housing isn’t at hand.
In a note released before Friday’s housing data, the analysts said that not only are isolated pockets in the U.S. still struggling, the national numbers haven’t turned significantly either.
The Bank of America analysts attributed the home-builder gains more to rationalization of that industry than a sustained upswing in demand.
“Overall, from a macroeconomic perspective, housing is likely to remain a drag on the recovery, particularly through its impact on consumer borrowing and psychology. The rehab recovery still has a way to go,” they said.
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