Realtor: No slow market in Rapid City

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Bruce Curington, a Realtor for Rossum & Neal Real Estate in Rapid City, S.D., who is attending a National Association of Realtors conference here this week, said home prices and sales have risen year-over-year in Rapid City.

For-sale inventory is up, though, compared to last year, and financing is tougher now for some buyers but foreclosures aren't a factor as they are in some other market areas, he said. "Interest rates are down, but it's a little harder for buyers because no one's giving away mortgages anymore," he said.

Foreclosure data provider RealtyTrac reported this week that South Dakota had the second-lowest rate of foreclosure filings per household among all states in April, with one foreclosure filing for every 14,657 households.

Curington noted that the Rapid City region is home to such landmarks as Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower and the controversial, partially completed Crazy Horse Monument.

The Rapid City area didn't experience the high rate of appreciation that some other markets saw during the real estate run-up, he said, and some older homes are still selling for about $100,000 though there has been a rise in luxury homes in the region selling for over $1 million.

The National Association of Realtors reported that single-family resale home sales fell 13.2 percent statewide in North Dakota in the first quarter compared to first-quarter 2007. Prices were up 2.7 percent in the Bismarck, S.D., area year-over-year in the first quarter, NAR also reported, though the association doesn't track data for the Rapid City area.

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