Have the real estate prices in the Greater Harrisburg market begun to stabilize? The answer right now looks that we, as I have been saying, are getting close; but my only concern is that we need one or two more months of validation. When comparing the number of homes sold in June 2009 vs June 2010, there was a 3% increase in the numbers and a 7% increase in the average sales price to $200,419. The average sales price did increase from previous months average that had been in the $180’s, so we just want to be sure that this is not an anomaly.

There are three primary reasons that one may say caused the gain; 1) the effects and benefit of the Home Buyer Tax Credit; 2) there are perceived values in the market and; 3) mortgage interest rates remain extremely low, such as 4.75% for a thirty year fixed rate mortgage. But something else occurred, the higher end (homes that sold in excess of $300,000) of the market improved substantially and the number of homes over $400,000 had a more dramatic increase on a year over year basis, consisting of 14% of the number of sales in 2010. So one month does not make a trend, but there are positives that are beginning to appear. I will keep updating the movement of the market and if you have any specific real estate questions, please contact me at Don@DonRoth.com. Enjoy your summer.

 

Average Sales Price
West Shore
School District
June 2009
June 2010
Days on Market
Camp Hill
$207,105
$210,822
47/69
Cumberland Valley
$275,774
$274,719
81/99
West Shore
$185,265
$176,950
64/60
Northern
$241,428
$215,042
98/113
Mechanicsburg
$179,917 
$213,903
64/52
East Pennsboro
$222,441
$177,397
81/53
East Shore
Central Dauphin
$175,821
$218,610
63/111
Derry Township
$244,788
 $268,814
86/72
Harrisburg
$ 85,580
$ 75,581
95/102
Lower Dauphin
$233,382
$220,843
58/90
Middletown
$138,847
$178,515
106/130
Steel High
$ 76,880
$ 71,975

153/141
Susquehanna Township
$173,245
$175,716
70/96

When reviewing the yearly comparisons between years for different school districts, there is usually a relatively small number of homes sold and when you have a few higher priced home sell, the month to month variance can be greatly exaggerated, up or down. Again, if you have any questions, please contact me at your convenience.