Local Realtors confident in strong home market

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The Springfield MultiList Service shows sales on new and existing homes were on the rise in 1998 and 1999, and early 2000 statistics indicate the trend may be continuing.|ret||ret||tab|

The housing slump of five years ago resulted in a price drop of as much as $10,000 in some price ranges, but the market has made a comeback since, with the exception of 1997 when sales took a step back, according to Tom Rieken, broker/agent with Jones and Company.|ret||ret||tab|

Consider sold units of the typical Springfield home three bedrooms, two baths and a two-car garage. Sales of these units climbed to 3,120 in 1996, then dipped to 2,677 in 1997, according to Rieken. In 1998, 3,305 three-bedroom units were sold, and in 1999, sales rose again to 3,539.|ret||ret||tab|

These figures do not include the number of similar houses sold by owner, which was substantial in late 1998 and in 1999, according to Bobbie White, broker/agent with Rand Holland Inc., Realtors.|ret||ret||tab|

Rieken said that 64 percent of all sales are three-bedroom homes, and the largest number of homes in this category fall within the $60,000 to $90,000 price range.|ret||ret||tab|

The greatest number of sales for three-bedroom homes was in the $70,000 bracket, showing 646 sales in 1999. Three-bedroom homes in the $80,000 range with 631 recorded for the same year.|ret||ret||tab|

Several new subdivisions in the southwestern area of Springfield are targeting the $70,000 to $80,000 markets, Rieken said.|ret||ret||tab|

Westwood Estates is a popular addition, featuring homes in the $80,000 range. Berkeshire Trails is offering homes in the mid $70,000 range with a total of 300 units planned in the subdivision, he said.|ret||ret||tab|

"You can't build them any cheaper these days," Rieken said. "And we can't build them fast enough to satisfy buyers in this addition."|ret||ret||tab|

Cardinal Crest is another sought-after southwest subdivision, with homes offered in the $90,000 range.|ret||ret||tab|

"At this level you can build the house people want," Rieken said. "They sell like wildfire."|ret||ret||tab|

Bobbie White said she can see growth in both the southwest and southeast sections of Springfield and surrounding areas. |ret||ret||tab|

Newer homes in the southeast area tend to cost more than $100,000. If the buyer needs to stay under $100,000, they may go to the southwest, where property prices are lower, she said.|ret||ret||tab|

White said she sees the 1998 and 1999 sales as more or less level, without any significant gains or losses, although some agents reported that both years were big years for them. |ret||ret||tab|

The year 2000 has started off with a surge in sales from White's perspective, and she looks forward to an active market in the coming months.|ret||ret||tab|

Paul Dizmang, owner/broker of Dizmang Associates First Choice Real Estate stated that 1999 was an excellent year for his company. "We broke all kinds of records in 1999," he said, adding that he sees no indication that the market will be any different this year.|ret||ret||tab|

All areas of the city and most price ranges showed an increase in sales for Dizmang Associates, Dizmang said.|ret||ret||tab|

In general, people are gravitating to the same regions as they have in the past decade, with more sales recorded on the south side of town. There are a number of new homes being built north of I-44, Dizmang said. But the number of new starts is fewer than those in the south and southwest, which would naturally account for a smaller number of sales north.|ret||ret||tab|

Realtors agree that low interest rates have helped boost the market. But Dizmang remarked that he didn't think the threat of higher rates would be detrimental in 2000.|ret||ret||tab|

"The threat of higher rates can actually stimulate the market on the short term," he said. "Some people will rush to buy to beat a rate increase."|ret||ret||tab|

Besides, he pointed out, a quarter of a percent increase in short-term interest rates will not necessarily affect the real estate market. It is usually when the bond market responds to changing rates that the effect trickles down to the housing market.|ret||ret||tab|

Although the number of homes sold remains the highest in the $70,000 and $80,000 ranges in the last couple of years, the overall average sales price remained slightly more than $100,000 in 1999. The $100,924 average sale price recorded by the MLS in 1999 was a slight drop from the $101,249 recorded for 1998.|ret||ret||tab|

White attributes a portion of the growth in sales in the last few years to relaxed credit requirements.|ret||ret||tab|

"The mortgage broker has become a friend to the consumer," she said.[[In-content Ad]]