A “situation similar to what happened in the late 1980s”

From the Pocono Record:

Monroe home sales drop 35 percent

Sales of homes in Monroe County took a sharp dip last month, falling 35 percent from May 2006.

Home sales fell from 291 to 190 for May 2006 and 2007, respectively, according to the Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors. The drop was about the same for both foreclosure and non-foreclosure homes sold.

Sales volume fell from $61 million to $41.6 million, a 35 percent decline.

The average home was on the market 32 percent longer before selling, from 82 days in May 2006 to 100 in 2007.

Inventory of unsold homes increased by 27 percent, from 2,464 in May 2006 to 3,123 in May 2007.

The largest dip in home sales occurred in Jackson Township, where sales fell almost twice as much as the rest of the county. Eldred was followed by Paradise, Stroud, Tunkhannock and Pocono townships.

The greatest rise in number of unsold homes was in Eldred Township, followed by the borough of East Stroudsburg, and Jackson, Price and Paradise townships.

“We are experiencing a situation similar to what happened in the late 1980s, but less severe at this time”, according to Eileen Chaladoff, vice president of the Realtors’ association and an agent with Prudential Associates. In the early ’80s, Monroe County experienced a real estate boom, characterized by rising prices and sales. Late in the decade, prices started slowing and sales along with them. At that time, sellers who bought at higher prices had to bring money to closing because they owed more than what they sold their house for.