Median home prices fell more than 10 percent last year in Durango compared with 2009. But one local real estate broker said there’s still reason for optimism.

“In town, it feels like the (single-family home) market really has stabilized,” said Heather Erb, president of Durango Area Association of Realtors.

In its annual report of real estate sales statistics released this week, the Realtors association reported a $39,000 reduction in the median value of homes, to $340,000, in Durango. More homes sold in 2010 than in 2009, however, indicating that some consumer confidence is returning to the market, Erb said.

In Bayfield, the picture for 2010 was more bleak, with median home values down about 6 percent and the number of homes sold down 24 percent compared with 2009.

Erb suggests the Bayfield market has yet to “bottom out,” as it has elsewhere.

Residents hoping to better understand what their properties are worth need to look at what homes of similar size and amenities sold for last year, Erb said. Information found in the local Realtors’ quarterly and annual reports may not be applicable to some homes.

What’s selling and what isn’t can affect the statistics, she said. For instance, some might assume a 64 percent increase in the number of condos sold in Durango last year is a promising indicator of an impending economic rebound. But the spike is really the result of lending markets contracting and then loosening, she said.

In 2009, it was nearly impossible to get a loan for a condo, Erb said. But last year, banks began lending on those purchases again. But inventory levels in that market show it still hasn’t rebounded, Erb said.

“There’s a lot of inventory,” Erb said.

In other words, there are plenty of condos for sale, and they’re sitting on the market. Conversely, the number of single-family homes listed for sale in Durango is down, and houses are selling slightly faster, she said,

And while rural homes around Durango experienced only a modest 1 percent reduction in median values compared with 2009 and there was a 10 percent increase in the number of units sold in 2010, the figures are a far cry from what they were in 2007.

The median value of rural homes was $429,900 in 2007. In 2010, the median value of rural homes was $375,000.

“The shakeout still needs to happen in country homes as well,” Erb said, “but overall, it’s looking better.”

hscofield@durangoherald.com