Here's the report on the first quarter 2009 from the Lancaster County Association of Realtors:

According to a recent report by the Lancaster County Association of Realtors® (LCAR), the 709 homes sold in the first quarter of 2009 is a 24.7 percent decrease from the first quarter 2008 mark of 941. This year there were 187 sales in January, 225 in February and 297 in March; this compares to 244 in January of 2008, 330 in February and 367 in March. The five-year average of first quarter home sales is 1,121.

The average sale price for the first quarter of 2009 is $170,940, a decrease of 6.2 percent from the first quarter
2008 price tag of $182,150. The fiveyear average first quarter sale price is $177,280, and the average first quarter price in 1999 was $122,419. The median sale price for the first quarter of 2009 is $162,000 compared to $169,900 for the first quarter of 2008 (half of the properties sold during this period sold above the number, and half sold below).

For the first quarter, there were 1,940 new listings in 2009, an 11.4 percent decrease from the first quarter 2008 new listings of 2,190. The five-year average of new listings for the first quarter is 2,064.

“With a difficult first quarter now behind us, the signs are pointing to a much improved spring home buying season,” said LCAR president, Scott Ulrich. “Open house traffic is up; phones in the real estate offices are ringing more; and most importantly, contracts are being signed and settlements are taking place. There has been pent-up demand building all through the fall and winter months as interested buyers stayed on the sidelines until they found out what the new President’s stimulus package looked like and what interest rates would do.”