ST. JOSEPH, MI – "Just like in August, the housing market in September was at the same pace as a year ago. In most areas, the numbers varied less than a percentage point. The notable differences were the total dollar volume down was 3 percent, the average price was down a little over 2 percent and the median price was down 12 percent. This is a small margin of change and could suggest that the market is maintaining a more stable environment," stated Gary Walter, EVP, of the Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS®, Inc.

Walter said, "Comparing September to August, 26 percent fewer homes were sold but the average and median selling prices were up 7 and 9 percent. The mortgage rate continued its month-to-month decline, locally landing at 4.17 compared to 4.32 last month."

"Two more houses were sold in September 2010 (192) compared to this year, however, year-to-date seventeen more homes were sold this year. That is how close the numbers were. The average selling price in September dipped to $176,543 from $180,957 last year. Year-to-date, the average selling price is $883 less than a year ago ($158,353 vs. $159,236). The median selling price took the biggest drop in the year-to-year comparison, falling to $110, 000 from $125,750 last year," Walter continued.

The median price is the price at which 50% of the homes sold were above that price and 50% were below.

Nationally, existing-home sales were down in September on the heels of a strong gain in August, but remain well above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

According to the National Association of Realtors®, total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million in September from an upwardly revised 5.06 million in August, but are 11.3 percent above the 4.41 million unit pace in September 2010.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market has been stable although at low levels, and there is plenty of room for improvement. "Existing-home sales have bounced around this year, staying relatively close to the current level in most months," he said. "The irony is affordability conditions have improved to historic highs and more creditworthy borrowers are trying to purchase homes, but the share of contract failures is double the level of September 2010. Even so, the volume of successful buyers is higher than a year ago and is remaining fairly stable – this speaks to an unfulfilled demand."

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $165,400 in September, down 3.5 percent from September 2010. Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales typically sold at deep discounts – accounted for 30 percent of sales in September (18 percent were foreclosures and 12 percent were short sales), down from 31 percent in August and 35 percent in September 2010.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Midwest slipped 0.9 percent in September to a pace of 1.09 million but are 17.2 percent higher than September 2010. The median price in the Midwest was $137,400, which is 1.4 percent below a year ago.

All-cash sales accounted for 30 percent of purchase activity in September, up from 29 percent in August and 29 percent also in September 2010; investors make up the bulk of cash purchases.

Investors purchased 19 percent of homes in September, down from 22 percent in August; they were 18 percent in September 2010. First-time buyers accounted for 32 percent of transactions in September, unchanged from August; they were also 32 percent in September 2010.

"In the Southwest Michigan market we held the number of bank-owned or foreclosed homes as a part of all closed transactions to 29 percent. In August the percentage dropped to the lowest point for the year at 26 percent. This percentage peaked in March at 47 percent," Walter stated.

Walter continued, "As of September 30^th, we had 3,137 houses listed for sale, which is a 12 percent decrease from the number we had in September 2010 (3574). This inventory level based on the last 12 month's sales gives us a 15.4-month supply of homes for sale, which is down from last year when we had a 17.3-month supply."

Nationally, the total housing inventory at the end of September declined 2.0 percent to 3.48 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.5-month supply4 at the current sales pace, compared with an 8.4-month supply in August.

The mortgage rate in Southwest Michigan in September was 4.17 down from 4.32 in August. According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.11 percent in September, down from 4.27 percent in August; the rate was 4.35 percent in September 2010.

NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., said access to credit is unbalanced. "All year we've been discussing the fact that many creditworthy home buyers are being denied mortgages," he said. "On top of that, loan limits have been lowered, which means buyers of higher priced homes, including many in more expensive housing markets, now have to pay a higher interest rate for a jumbo mortgage than buyers who can qualify for a conventional loan. We need to remove the roadblocks to a housing recovery – not place more obstacles in the way of financially qualified buyers."

The numbers reported for local sales include residential property in Berrien, and the western half of Van Buren and Cass counties.  All three counties are included in numbers and percentages and do not reflect differences in any individual areas.

The Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS®, Inc. is a professional trade association for real estate licensees and ancillary service providers for the real estate industry in Van Buren, Berrien and Cass counties.  The Association is located at 3123 Lake Shore Drive St. Joseph, MI 49085, (269) 983.6375.  They can also be contacted through their web site, www.swmar.com.

The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.