According to a recent report by the Lancaster County Association of Realtors® (LCAR), 433 homes sold in November, a 13.7 percent decrease from the 502 homes that sold in November of 2005. The five-year average of homes sold in November is 470. For the year, January thru November, 5,152 homes have sold, a 14.0 percent decrease from the same time period in 2005. The $188,141 average sale price for November is a 2.0 percent decrease from the November 2005 price tag of $191,980. The five-year average sale price for the month of November is $169,118. Ten years ago in November of 1996, the average sale price of a home in Lancaster County was $116,303. New residential listings for November were virtually unchanged with 602 in 2006, compared to 604 in 2005. The average number of new listings for the month of November over the last five years is 541. “The national economists are saying that the housing correction is about two-thirds finished and that by the second half of 2007, home sales will be picking up again,” said LCAR president, Doug Byler. “If you look only at the fact that local housing sales for the year are off by 14 percent, you might believe the bursting bubble theories being reported. However, you have to realize that sales are off 14 percent from the most phenomenal year ever in the real estate industry . . . that still puts the market on very solid footing.”

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