Howard County’s housing market started 2012 with an approximately 48 percent increase in sales compared to a year earlier.
The Indiana Association of Realtors on Monday reported 71 home sales closed in January in the county. Sales picked up from 48 the same month a year earlier.
Sales slid by two from 73 in December.
The median sales price in January increased to $74,250 from $59,000 in December and from $69,900 in January 2011.
Homes sold for 92 percent of their listing prices.
Statewide sales increased 13.9 percent in January.
“Members have reported being genuinely busy since the beginning of the year and the numbers prove it,” Karl Berron, CEO of the Indiana Association of Realtors, said in a press statement. “Seems the pendulum is finally swinging back to the middle of the two extremes we’ve experienced the past several years.”
A federal tax credit led to a rush of sales in 2009 and 2010, then a lag followed into 2011.
Stricter mortgage lending standards have slowed sales compared to recent years, according to the Realtors association.
And foreclosures continue to press down on prices.
The Howard County Sheriff Department had 45 foreclosed homes listed for its January auction. December had 37 foreclosure sales, and January 2011 had 45.