Both pending and closed home sales rose in October in Lane County compared with a year ago, while prices fell, according to the Regional Multiple Listing Service.
There were 239 homes sold last month, 14 percent more than the comparable month last year, and 278 pending sales, up 7 percent from a year ago.
The median price, meanwhile, was down 13 percent in October from last year, to $165,000. Median means that half the homes sold for more than this amount and half for less.
Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage are averaging 4.04 percent nationally, and rates for a 15-year mortgage are averaging 3.40 percent, according to bankrate.com., an aggregator of financial rate information.
At this rate, someone buying a home for $165,000 � the median price in Lane County � with a 20 percent down payment would have a monthly mortgage payment of about $630 per month.
The supply of homes coming on the market also is tightening, according to RMLS figures. New listings dropped by 18 percent last month, compared with a year ago with 335 homes coming on the market this October.
Local real estate agents have said some sellers are waiting for the market to improve before listing their properties.
Lane County has a 7.6-month supply of unsold homes, meaning that at the current rate of sales, the 1,822 active residential listings now on the market would last about 7.6 months.
The inventory of unsold homes has ranged between 7 and 8.6 months since March, after starting the year off with a 12.4 month inventory.
The total market time � the number of days from when a home is listed to when an offer is accepted � increased by 3 percent, compared with a year ago, to 130 days.
For the year as a whole, both pending and closed sales are down slightly � by 3 percent � compared with last year.
The median sales price for the year as a whole is down 12 percent and the average sales price is down 7 percent.
The total market time rose 19 percent for the year to date.