(WICHITA, Kan.) — Wichita area homes are selling, just not quickly.
“So far it's not really very strong,” says seller Jackie Franklin.
Sellers like Franklin are finding their home may be on the market a while.
This year sales are down about 5.5 percent. Next year is looking better.
“It's not going gangbuster, but it seems things have bottomed out and things are going back up,” says Stan Longhofer with Wichita State University’s Center for Real Estate.
Longhofer’s office releases a housing market forecast every year.
This year was especially difficult because of tax credits that affected sales numbers. Longhofer says the current job market also makes it difficult.
“We've known the job market is a big question mark,” says Longhofer.
The Hawker Beechcraft decision could affect the forecast.
“A loss of a major employer like that would have an impact on the market,” says Longhofer.
That hasn’t happened, so Longhofer’s forecast of 6.5 percent growth could happen in 2011.
He says home prices, although down slightly in 2010, have remained relatively flat. He expects the same next year.
