The average year-to-date selling price of a home in Anchorage has just topped $300,000. At the same time last year it was a little under $270,000. By contrast with the Lower 48, however, Anchorage homes are less costly. Average home values in many equivalent markets are closer to $400,000 at this time.

The year-to-date total of closed sale reports reaching Alaska MLS Inc. through April is lower this year: 822 vs. 899. These are reports of contracts agreed to a month or two earlier in most cases. The data through May should be available in about two weeks.

Meanwhile, the number of homes listed for sale at the end of every month this year has been higher than most years since 2002. For the past four years the springtime inventory has been around 500. This April the inventory rose to 622, higher than any late winter and spring inventory levels since 2001.

Given that prices are continuing to rise, I would say that inventories have not yet reached levels where supply exceeds demand.

The MOA Building Safety folks report 164 new home permits issued through April this year, the same as last year. In 2004 and 2003, however, the equivalent permit level was about 50% more, around 250 each year. Land use permits for Eagle River totaled 77, the same as last year.

The MOA's system for reporting remodeling permits was changed this year to include everything that requires a permit, such as replacing a water heater. Now it is not as easy from their reports to track whether larger-scale remodeling activity is up. From industry contacts and conversations with contractors, however, it does appear that more people are undertaking to update and even expand their homes. This could be attributed in part to fewer new homes available. But also we have a large number of homes that are now 25 years old from the early 80's building boom that are in need of modernization.

I'm offering enhanced resources for sellers, as well as buyers, on my web site. Note the "What's My Home Worth" button to the right, where owners can get an EMail valuation. On my main web site the Seller-oriented page is http://www.reals8.com/SellerAwareness.htm.

The equivalent page for Buyers is http://www.reals8.com/BuyerAwareness.htm.

People tell me the Podcast, a short on-line radio interview on market conditions, is a first for Anchorage real estate information. And the push-to-talk-to-me button is popular: even my mother in Vermont uses it.