Year-to-date, the housing market is almost even with last year, the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors, Inc. reports. Both the units sold and the average selling prices are tracking almost identical to last year.
When comparing August sales from this year to last year, more houses were sold this year but at lower prices. Selling prices in 2010 ranged from a low of $105,824 in February to a high of $ 206,733 in July with a run up from January-July and a decline through January 2011. This year the low was $141,912 in June and the high so far was $164,452 in August.
The median price is the price at which 50 percent of the homes sold were above and 50 percent were below.
The mortgage rate in southwest Michigan in August was 4.32 down from 4.76 in July.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.27 percent in August, down from 4.55 percent in July; the rate was 4.43 percent in August 2010. Freddie Mac recently reported the 30-year fixed rate fell to a record low 4.09 percent.