Sales of existing homes in Forsyth County continued to show strength last month, rising 17.8 percent over June 2009.
There were 563 homes sold in the county last month, compared with 478 for the same period last year, according to the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors, based on numbers from the Triad Multiple Listing Service.
More local homes were sold last month than in any other month since June 2008.
Sales went up 6.8 percent from 527 in May.
The local sales rate defied the national trend. The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that sales of existing homes around the country fell 5.1 percent in June from May.
"Our area has continued to outpace state and national recoveries, and we are very pleased to see the strength in the Winston-Salem region in existing home sales," said George Bell, the president of the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors.
The average sales price rose in June to $171,755, up 4.5 percent from $164,288 in May and up 5.7 percent from $162,509 in June 2009.
Bell said that the increase was primarily because of the number of houses that sold for more than $200,000.
"This is the first month in many months when we have had as many existing homes sold in the $200,000-to-$250,000 price range as we have in the $140,000-to-$160,000 price range," he said. "This indicates that the home sellers last month were, in turn, buying a home this month."
He described the local housing market as stable, with more people moving into the area than out of it.
"As a result, most people who are selling an existing home are doing so in order to move into another house, not because they
are moving out of the
market," Bell said.
Karen Jones, a broker for Allen Tate Realtors in Winston-Salem, said that it's still a buyer's market.
"I'm dropping prices on every listing I have -- and that's 15 different houses," Jones said. Still, she is excited about the recent increase in business.
She said that home sales dropped dramatically after April 30, which was the deadline for homebuyers to qualify for federal tax credits. But by July 1, business had turned around. Jones has gone from having no buyers and listings to having several each week.
"We're back on the right track, and things are looking good," she said.
fdaniel@wsjournal.com
727-7366
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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