Downtown HOME PRICES

Slight improvement of inventory in the last 2 weeks. Today there are 32 homes for sale downtown with lowest price at 220,000 for a 3 br, 2 bath 1200 sf with no garage or pool. We've been carrying right around 20 homes for sale at any given time for the last whole year.

City wide median price statistics show a 10% increase since Jan. 1. 05, but I calculate a 18% increase in Downtown median price. I know this is true, because with every sale downtown, we're struggling to get the appraisals to come in. Appraisers have to use closed transaction, but the market demands higher and higher prices.

My biggest complaint is sellers asking top dollar for 50 +- year old homes that have not had the plumbing, electric, heat/air, windows etc updated. We'll get away with this for a short time more as long as buyers think they're getting more sf for the money than they can elsewhere, but as prices rise, sellers will have to have done the updating to get top dollar. Downtowns amazingly great location will carry us for a while, but not when 2br 1 bath is 250,000.