The March numbers are in!  Sales were down, as expected, but prices continue to trade within a narrow range.

Sales for March were 282 single family homes and 392 condominiums.  These numbers compare to last year at the same time of 330 and 541 for decline in sales of 14.5% and 27.5%, respectively. Don’t forget, these data are for resales only and don’t include new housing or condo projects.

The median price paid for a single family home in March bounced up from February, but, at $628,000, was below the March 2007 figure of $643,500.  Last month, the price had dropped to $599,000, an amount not seen since July 2005.

Condominium prices continued to rise with a median of $329,300 in March which was up 2.6% from the $321,000 price a year ago.  This price was down, however, from February’s median of $335,000 which was a record.

Sales speeds were faster, with the single family home speed dropping more than 2 weeks, to 47 days.  Even though the condo market time shaved only 1 day, it dropped to just 39 days.  This speed is NOT indicative of a market slump.

A preliminary look at the first quarter numbers show the same pattern - a slowdown in sales but prices being maintained.  More about the first quarter statistics in a future blog.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Island Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.