Sales Up, Prices Mixed: Finally Near Bottom Of Real Estate Crash?

FARMINGTON HILLS -- Home sales in January rose 10.4 percent from a year earlier across the 10 eastern Michigan counties tracked by the Farmington Hills-based real estate information firm Realcomp II Ltd.

Total sales for the month were 4,439 homes, up from 4,022 a year earlier. Foreclosure and non-foreclosure sales advanced at virtually the same rate -- 2,047 foreclosure sales, up 10.4 percent from 1,854 a year earlier, and 2,392 non-foreclosure sales, up 10.3 percent from 2,168 a year earlier.

The median sale price across the region for all sales, both foreclosure and non-foreclosure, was $63,000, down 3.1 percent from $65,000 in January 2011. However, several counties saw their median prices rise -- Livingston, Macomb, Oakland and Sanilac.

Total homes in inventory fell 19.8 percent to 27,389 in January from 34,155 a year earlier. The average days on the market to sell a home fell to 89 days from 96 a year earlier.

By submarket, the figures were as follows:

Detroit: 267 foreclosure sales, up 28.4 percent from 208 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $8,000, down 15.8 percent from $9,500 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $10,750, down 10.4 percent from $12,000 a year earlier.

Genesee County: 198 foreclosure sales, up 20 percent from 165 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $25,058, down 48.3 percent from $48,500 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $78,000, up 30.1 percent from $59,950 a year earlier.

Huron County: Two foreclosure sales, up from zero a year earlier. Six non-foreclosure sales, up from two a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $44,000. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $59,813, down 66.3 percent from $177,500 a year earlier.

Lapeer County: 33 foreclosure sales, unchanged from a year earlier. 32 non-foreclosure sales, up 14.3 percen from 28 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $50,000, down 11.5 percent from $56,500 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $106,200, down 0.7 percent from $106,950 a year earlier.

Livingston County: 60 foreclosure sales, up 20 percent from 50 a year earlier. 97 non-foreclosure sales, down 1 percent from 98 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $103,600, down 7.6 percent from $112,100 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $180,000, down 20 percent from $150,000 a year earlier.

Macomb County: 350 foreclosure sales, up 12.2 percent from 312 a year earlier. 450 non-foreclosure sales, up 40.6 percent from 320 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $40,050, down 10.9 percent from $44,950 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $98,450, up 5.9 percent from $93,000 a year earlier.

Oakland County: 421 foreclosure sales, down 12.7 percent from 482 a year earlier. 684 non-foreclosure sales, up 7.7 percent from 635 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $50,000, down 7.4 percent from $54,000 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $140,000, unchanged from a year earlier.

Sanilac County: four foreclosure sales, unchanged from a year earlier. Five non-foreclosure sales, unchanged from a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $31,775, up 95.5 percent from $16,250 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $63,500, down 36.5 percent from $100,000 a year earlier.

St. Clair County: 50 foreclosure sales, up 138.1 percent from 21 a year earlier. 46 non-foreclosure sales, unchanged from a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $29,700, down 42.9 percent from $52,000 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $86,750, down 17.3 percent from $104,950 a year earlier.

Tuscola County: 12 foreclosure sales, up 50 percent from eight a year earlier. Nine non-foreclosure sales, down 10 percent from 10 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $33,750, up 35.3 percent from $24,950 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $60,000, down 26.4 percent from $81,500 a year earlier.

Wayne County, excluding Detroit: 514 foreclosure sales, up 6.2 percent from 484 a year earlier. 535 non-foreclosure sales, up 1.7 percent from 526 a year earlier. Median sale price on foreclosure sales, $35,000, down 5.4 percent from $37,000 a year earlier. Median sale price on non-foreclosure sales, $74,000, down 1.3 percent from $75,000 a year earlier.