The domestic prices of Polk Country have the negative gone. For the first time since the pole of housing started in 2005, the median domestic Polk prices decreased 5 percent as from March 2007 to March 2006: $178.300 to $168.300. But that follows the tendency of other counties around the state, which tested significant declines these last months. The beach of Daytona, town of Melbourne, Panama and Punta Gorda all announced declines to two digits in median prices, which arrives at the coastal communities where prices were strongly inflated by investors during the peak of construction in full rise.

“That statistic means very little in the big picture,” said Arthur Mattson, owner of Lakeland Realty. ‘’You are looking at only one month. Lakeland is one of the top five cities to buy real estate in the U.S. based on increasing values, which is a much more important statistic.”

Mattson’s comments were based on a recent ranking by CNN Money.

“Studies show Lakeland home values will increase 59 percent in the next five years,” he said. “And that’s just an average.”

Prices weren’t the only decline in March.

The local existing home sales market isn’t looking any better. Home sales around the county dropped nearly 42 percent from 592 in March 2006 to 345 last month.

The Ledger’s home sales figures include existing duplexes, condos, co-ops, manufactured and mobile homes, modular, single-family and townhomes, as well as new home sales by Realtors.

Lakeland Realtors had 212 home sales in March, down 39 percent from 350 a year ago.

“Right now, it’s hard to sell and slow to close,” said Brooks Chandler, a Realtor with Brooks Chandler Realty LLC in Lakeland. “But it’s an exciting time to buy. There are some good buys out there.'’

East Polk recorded 129 home sales in March, down 42 percent from 223. Bartow home sales decreased 79 percent last month with four sales compared with 19 a year ago.

“You have the hills and valleys and that’s how it is,” Chandler said.

Sales of existing single-family homes around the state totaled 13,469 in March compared with 18,751 homes sold a year ago, for a 28 percent decrease.

On the national scene, 6.12 million homes were sold in March, down 11.3 percent from 6.90 million in March 2006.

“For the last couple months we’ve been expecting a weather hit on home sales finalized in March, but looking at overall activity in the first quarter, we see that existing home sales averaged 6.41 million, a figure that is moderately higher than the sales pace during the second half of 2006,” David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said in a written statement. “We also may be seeing some losses as a result of the subprime fallout. However, this is masking improved fundamentals in the housing market, with lower mortgage interest rates and motivated sellers.”

Jeremy Maready can be reached at 863-802-7592 or jeremy.maready@theledger.com.

By Jeremy Maready via : www.theledger.com