Triangle housing market improving

The Triangle housing market continues to show signs of stabilizing: The number of homes sold in August fell only slightly from the same month last year.

There were 1,724 existing homes sold during August in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show. That's down about 1 percent from the same period a year ago, the smallest year-over-year decline in any month since late 2007.

"We're finally starting to see what I believe to be the bottom," said Ross Rhudy, general manager of Ammons Pittman GMAC Real Estate in Raleigh. "I think the question on everyone's mind is: How long will the bottom last, and how soon will we begin a notable recovery?"

The number of houses being shown was up 12.5 percent in August, the third straight month that showings have increased. The number of sellers dropping the price of their home also continued to decline in August.

The news wasn't all good, though. The number of days homes spent on the market in August was 10 days longer than the same period last year. The average price of resold homes in the four-county area was $227,700 in August, down 7.6 percent from a year earlier.

Recent sales activity got a boost from the $8,000 tax credit available to first-time buyers. Nearly 45,000 home buyers in North Carolina have taken advantage of the credit since the government began offering it in 2008, the Internal Revenue Service reports. Many eligible buyers are rushing to take advantage of the credits, which are set to expire Nov. 30.

"We're down to 60 days when it has to close, and there's certainly momentum for it to end strong," said John Wood, president of the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors and a Re/Max United agent in Cary.

Stacey P. Anfindsen, a Cary appraiser who analyzes MLS data for Triangle real estate agents, said the power of the tax credits can be seen in the dramatic increase in showings for starter homes with modest prices.

"Maybe that's kind of been our parachute going down," Anfindsen said. "That being said, when it expires, I'm not sure what's going to happen."

Any recovery in the U.S. and Triangle housing markets will be tied closely to the health of the local job market and whether the foreclosure crisis continues.

This week, the state Employment Security Commission will release August unemployment data for the Triangle. Joblessness in the Raleigh-Durham area has fallen in the past two months; the unemployment rate stood at 8.3 percent in July. The state's unemployment rate dropped slightly in August, but it remains high at 10.8percent.

Foreclosure filings continue to mount in the four-county area. There were 3,089 filings in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake between May and August, according to the state Administrative Office of the Courts. That was 30 percent more filings than occurred during the first four months of 2009.

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