According to a recent report by the Lancaster County Association of Realtors® (LCAR), 368 homes sold in February, a minimal 1.1 percent decrease from the 372 homes that sold in February of 2006. The five-year average of homes sold in February is 365. For the first two months of the year, there were 685 sales in 2007 versus 683 sales in 2006, a 0.3 percent increase. The $179,159 average sale price for February is a 2.2 percent increase from the February 2006 price tag of $175,588. The five-year average sale price for the month of February is $163,400. Ten years ago in February of 1997, the average sale price of a home in Lancaster County was $111,844, a 60.2 percent increase. New residential listings for February decreased 8.0 percent from 647 units in 2006 to 595 units in 2007. The average number of new
listings for the month of February over the last five years is 570. “The sales figures reflect that the market is stabilizing ,” said LCAR president, Rich Heslin. “Interest rates are still very favorable and now there isn’t the frenzy of recent years where there were multiple offers with properties selling as soon as they were listed. It’s a healthier market today because of greater balance between buyers and sellers.”