Denver-area home sales prices down 10 percent

Sales of existing single-family homes in the Denver area fell by 3 percent during the past year, while the median sales price is off by 10.28 percent.

Figures for April supplied by MetroList show the area's home sales declined from to 4,265 from 4,399 April 2007. The sales price fell to $222,550 from $248,000 during the same period.

The picture is bleaker for the Western portion of the United States, which includes Colorado. Sales of existing homes were down 12.4 percent in the West, while nationally existing home sales fell by 15.7 percent, according to a National Association of Realtors report issued Friday. Western states had the lowest drop in sales of existing homes during the past year and the biggest decrease in median selling price, at 16.7 percent. Nationally, the median selling price decreased 8 percent.

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"Clearly, Denver continues to exceed Western and national figures. ... That's basically because we have grown from a one-economy town to a multiple-economy town," said Gary Bauer, an independent Denver-area real estate broker and MetroList analyst.

In addition to Colorado, Western states in the National Association of Realtors report are Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

The National Association of Realtors blamed slower sales of existing homes on restrictive lending practices, but found some good news on the housing front.

"In the past week, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced they were eliminating their 'declining market' policies, effective June 1," the organization's president, Richard Gaylord, said in a statement.

That means consumers will have greater access to "safe, affordable financing" with down payments of only 5 percent on most mortgages, with 100 percent financing on some loans, according to the organization.