WATERLOO - Quarterly numbers took a slight downward turn in the Cedar Valley housing market, but it isn't necessarily a reflection of the market itself, said Bob Reisinger, executive director of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Board of Realtors.

"We feel the market is moving up, but there's still several other things involved," Reisinger said.

The board reported 618 unit sales in the quarter running April 1 through June 30, compared to 630 during the same period in 2008.

The average sales price of $112,250 was down from $117,500 a year earlier.

"The price drop kind of concerned me," Reisinger said.

But foreclosures may have skewed that number somewhat, he added.

"I look through the numbers and possibly as high as 10 percent of the sales in the second quarter were REOs, or real estate owned, by banks or what have you," Reisinger said.

"Those properties traditionally will sell for quite a bit less than what their value is; they're more by fire sale-type property, so that could have some effect."

Prices in rural areas also have fallen more than in the core metropolitan market, Reisinger said.

"At worst, it stayed even or flat," he said of housing within the central marketplace.

Weather, cited as a factor in a dip in first-quarter home sales, played a role in the second quarter, as well, Reisinger noted.

The average number of days on the market in the quarter was 73, compared to 81 a year ago.

Reisinger said that was possibly linked to a slight decrease in the number of units on the market.

The number of new residential listings was 1,048 in the just-ended quarter, compared to 1,167 a year earlier.

"The market is still strong," he said. "They have a lot of buyers, and they're qualified (for financing). "The problem is we're not getting the inventory. The properties are not available, pretty much in all price ranges."

The shortage is most acute up to the $300,000 range.

"More sales in lower price ranges are a difference," Reisinger said.

Tougher scrutiny in the financing area has played a role in slowing down the market, Reisinger said.

"Financing has all changed drastically, since the appraisal process is a lot more stringent," he said. "There's more they have to do, and that's causing the process to take longer than it did before."

A process that ordinarily might take four to six weeks could be stretched to eight now, Reisinger said.

New home construction also has slowed down and has contributed to tighter inventories, Reisinger added.

He also said more new construction is needed in order to make existing homes available for would-be buyers who are "looking to move up" to bigger, pricier houses.

That's not likely to happen soon, said contractor Sam Runyan, president of Waterloo-based Runyan Custom Homes.

"I don't think it's doing very well," Runyan said of the home-construction business. "I've talked to some suppliers, and they're not bidding anything for any builders who are doing specs right now, especially in that upper price range."

It's a continuation of a trend, Runyan said.

"We didn't have that many (new homes built) last year, either," he said. "I'm talking to lumberyards and subcontractors, and they're not figuring for anybody right now."

The prognosis for the late summer and early fall doesn't augur any more positively, Runyan said.

Reisinger agreed.

"The building season is over," he said. "We just didn't have the new construction this year."