Foreclosures are making a difference for the real estate market in Lake Havasu City, as more and more bank-owned homes are being sold.

Pat Landry, president of the Lake Havasu Association of Realtors, said offers are pouring in on foreclosed homes. Usually, she said, two to three of those offers are coming from investors.

Lake Havasu City reported 80 foreclosures sold for the month of March, more than half of the 149 single-family residential homes sold total.

And, Landry says there are even more bank-owned homes pending escrow. Already in April, there are 167 foreclosed homes pending approval for purchase in Lake Havasu City.

The total active listing for foreclosures in the city currently sits at 232 homes.

Landry said she expects foreclosures to continue through the end of 2010. With the average price of a bank-owned home in Lake Havasu around $126,000, Landry says prospective homeowners, especially first-time buyers, should continue to consider the foreclosure route for purchasing a new home. Right now, homes that were once in the $250,000 range have dropped in price more than $75,000 in some areas.

Landry says now is still the best time to buy, too. As the inventory of homes goes down, prices will, once again, begin to rise across the city.

“Prices have pretty well hit bottom and won’t go down any more,” Landry said.

The market in Lake Havasu City could begin to turn the corner by next year, Landry said.

The momentum gained from foreclosures is just a sign of what is happening in the real estate market across the city. For March, 149 homes sold. That number is more than the same month last year, when 123 homes were sold.

Landry attributes the increase in homes sold partially to snowbirds leaving Lake Havasu City. Numbers often indicate snowbirds will wait until the last minute to buy a second home here, in order to get the best possible price, Landry said.

Median and average sale prices for residential homes sold are well below what they were last year — $240,768 average for 2008, $194,984 this year. The median price compared with last year was an approximate $59,000 difference between the two years.

The average and median price of the homes sold may have dropped considerably, but the total dollars stabilized for the month of March. Total sales for the month of March this year were $29,052,677. Last year’s dollar amount for March was $29,614,466.

In comparison to other cities in Mohave County, Lake Havasu City is doing quite favorably. Kingman has a total listing of 806 residential homes on the market. Bullhead City has 884. Lake Havasu City lists 1,142 residential homes on the market, but sold a greater number of homes in March than either city. Bullhead City listed 62 homes as closed, Kingman 87. Both cities have a good number of home sales pending — Kingman, 160, Bullhead City, 62.

While the home industry continues to have some improvements, the building industry is still struggling. In March, only seven lots were sold, bringing the overall total to 21 for 2009. That is an average of seven homes per month for the first three months of the year, though.

What may be even more disappointing are the total dollar amounts of those lots being sold. Last year at this time, the total dollar amount of lots sold was near $1.6 million. This year total sales fell to approximately $652,150.

You may contact this reporter at twaggoner@havasunews.com.