Realtors staying busy in Coolidge market

Realtors selling homes in the Coolidge market have stayed relatively busy this year, with 85 homes sold since Jan. 1. “That averages out to be about a home sold every working day,” said Ken Bolan of A Bar Z Realty in Coolidge. That’s a relatively good amount of activity, although during the same period last year, there were 110 homes sold. The average price of the home sold so far this year has been $55,000, while last year it was $68,000. “We keep thinking the prices have dropped as low as their going to go,” Bolan said. But foreclosures and short sales keep dropping the prices lower. Most lenders haven’t done much to help in this regard, having been unwilling to work very well with distressed homeowners on loan modifications or short sales. Bolan said there are currently 103 homes listed for sale in Coolidge, but added that some lenders have foreclosed on homes and have not listed them for sale as they would rather sit on the property until the value comes back up in order recoup some of their loss. A recent report released by the U.S. Census Bureau stated that at the time of the 2010 census, there were 849 vacant homes in Coolidge, comprising 17.7 percent of the homes in the town. Bolan said that number seems high for the market, although Coolidge still fared better than most of the other homes in Pinal County. The report listed Florence highest with 34.28 percent of vacant homes (1,894 total vacant). Arizona City was second at 21.6 percent (1,094 vacant) and Casa Grande third at 21.2 percent (2,121 vacant). Eloy was fourth at 19.2 percent (707 vacant) and Coolidge was fifth. The only areas that fared better than Coolidge in the report were Maricopa at 16.7 (2,881 vacant) and Stanfield at 11.7 (26 vacant).

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