Salt Lake County existing home sales down from '08

Salt Lake County existing home sales down from '08
Nationally » March home sales are down by 3 percent

Salt Lake Tribune Staff And Wire Services
Updated:04/23/2009 06:44:56 PM MDT

Sales of existing homes in Salt Lake County rose in March over the previous month but fell 25 percent from a year ago.

Nationally, the spring home selling season is getting off to a lackluster start, with sales falling more than expected from February levels.

In Salt Lake County, sales of existing homes and condominiums climbed from 590 homes and condos in February to 718 in March, a 22 percent increase, the Salt Lake Board of Realtors said.

March's sales, however, are still down 25 percent compared with March 2008, when 960 homes and condos changed hands.

The median price of homes and condos sold in March was $223,750, nearly the same as February's median of $223,450, but down 1.4 percent from a median sales price of $227,000 in March 2008.

The median selling price of homes and condos in Salt Lake County is still off 8 percent from a peak of $243,700 in June 2007.

U.S. Home sales fell 3 percent to an annual rate of 4.57 million in March from a downwardly revised pace of 4.71 million units in February, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Sales had been expected to fall to an annual pace of 4.7 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

The results were "a little disappointing," given that homes are more affordable than they have been in years and mortgage rates are near record lows, said Lawrence Yun, the group's chief economist.

Nationally, the median sales price in March was $175,200, a plunge of 12.4 percent from a year ago, but higher than February's median price of $168,200. While median sales prices typically rise slightly in early spring, the 4 percent monthly increase was larger than expected.

Also Thursday, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment compensation rose to a seasonally adjusted 640,000 last week, up from a revised 613,000 the previous week.

In March, the jobless rate hit 8.5 percent, with businesses slashing a net total of 663,000 jobs.

The four-week average of claims for unemployment benefits dropped slightly to 646,750, about 12,000 below the peak in early April. Goldman Sachs economists have said a decline of 30,000 to 40,000 in the four-week average is needed to signal a peak.

In another sign of labor market weakness, the number of people continuing to claim benefits rose to 6.13 million, setting a record for the 12th straight week. As a proportion of the work force, the total jobless benefit rolls are the highest since January 1983. The continuing claims data lag initial claims by a week.