Sales of existing Treasure Coast homes spiked during the third quarter of 2008 but prices continued to slide.

There were 1,128 sales of existing single-family homes in the Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Stuart, a report released Tuesday by the Florida Association of Realtors showed. The figure was up 23 percent from the 916 sold during the same quarter last year.

The median sales price was $150,600, down 31 percent from $218,300 in the same period last year.

The association did not release individual statistics for Indian River County.

Statewide, sales of existing homes dropped 5 percent and the median price fell 20 percent to $185,400, the association said.

“Despite lending restrictions and the difficulties of finding affordable credit, we’re seeing buyers take advantage of homeownership opportunities in the current market,” said FAR President Chuck Bonfiglio in the release.

The local condominium market mirrored the same trend as the single-family market. The association said sales of Treasure Coast condos increased 22 percent in the quarter, with Realtors selling 177 units. The median price was $142,500, off 22 percent from a year ago.

In the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area, single-family home sales were up 9 percent and the median price declined 18 percent to $300,200 between the quarters.

Home sales in the Melbourne-Palm Bay area increased 18 percent, while the median price was $150,500, down from $196,500 last year.

By Nadia Vanderoof, TCPalm.com

Tags: prices, real estate, Realtors, sales, single-family

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 10:04 am and is filed under Economy, Fort Pierce, Hobe Sound, Jensen Beach, Martin County, Okeechobee, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County, Stuart, Tradition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.