Midwest Home Sales Fall 18 Percent in February

Home sales in the Midwest fell again in February as doubts about the economy and tighter credit requirements stymied potential buyers, according to two reports released Monday.

PMZ Real Estate Agent Michelle Zeiter, left, walks into a bank owned home she is showing to clients...

PMZ Real Estate Agent Michelle Zeiter, left, walks into a bank owned home she is showing to clients Maurice McJimsey, center, and Irene Mello in Stockton, Calif., Friday, March 13, 2009. The National Association of Realtors said Monday, March 23, sales of existing homes rose from January to February in an unexpected boost for the slumping U.S housing market as buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

(AP)

Existing home sales in the 12-state region slid 18 percent from February last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median price in the Midwest declined 8 percent to $131,000 — the second-smallest drop of any region.

By contrast, nationwide home sales slipped 10 percent from a year ago, without adjusting for seasonal factors, while prices tumbled almost 16 percent to $165,400.

Home sales fell in 11 of 12 major Midwestern cities with seven of those plummeting by more than 20 percent from prior-year levels, according to The Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report, also released Monday. The survey includes all home sales recorded in the metropolitan statistical area by all local agents, regardless of company affiliation.

Chicago; Wichita, Kan.; Indianapolis; Des Moines, Iowa; and Kansas City, Mo., posted the biggest losses in the region, dropping by 25 percent or more.

The only Midwestern city seeing an annual increase in sales was Detroit, where deeply depressed home prices have brought in a truckload of investors and other bargain hunters. Overall sales increased 5 percent in February while the median sale price fell 50 percent — the biggest drop in the country — to $41,000.

Home sales in Chicago plummeted by 65 percent in February from a year ago, one of the worst showings in the nation, according to the AP-Re/Max report. The median home sale price has also fallen, declining 23 percent to $179,000.

Israel Fuentes, a real estate agent with Home Center in Chicago, said buyers who would normally have taken advantage of lower home prices are now staying out of the market, afraid that prices will continue to crater. He said the problem has only worsened as more homes go into foreclosure or are being sold short — that is for less than the balance on the mortgage.