DANVILLE -- The area housing market is good, vibrant and strong, according to Tim Karr, with home sales increasing by nearly 40 percent since the start of 2006, while the rest of the nation trends in a different direction.

"We're selling. People are buying. I have been in business 35 years in this area and I have never seen indicators as healthy and as exciting as now," said Karr, multiple listing service president of the Central Susquehanna Valley Board of Realtors.

Members of the Realtors board held a press conference Monday at the Danville Elks to announce this area has been bucking the downward trend they said has been hyped by national media.

Sales of homes range from a 16 percent increase in Snyder County to a 58 percent increase in western Northumberland County. Montour County homes sales increased 39 percent, right on the average in Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties from Jan. 1, 2006, through Friday.

Ann Scullin Moyer, board vice president, attributed the increases in parts of Northumberland County to a "really strong market" and incoming businesses along routes 11-15. "The (Monroe) Market Place has been bringing folks around to buy. People who have been sitting on the fence got off," she said.

Karr said the perception "that this is good time to get a deal as any" may be a factor in increased sales.

"We are blessed with Geisinger Medical Center's ongoing activity in the area and continued growth. The Cherokee plant is hiring and doing great things. U.S. Gypsum will be hiring," he said.

Karr doesn't believe the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac situation has affected the area, saying "We have been fortunate to never have had the lows and highs in the market."

He discussed area sales the past three years, a time that coincides with the national housing crunch. The Realtors board, one of the largest in the state, had no glut of houses for sale during that time, Karr said.

In Montour County, 331 homes were listed last year compared with 262 this year. And 196 homes were sold last year in Montour County. 273 sold this year.

Sales this year amounted to $47.8 million in the county, a 46 percent increase compared with $32.5 million last year.

Average sale prices rose an average of 3 percent in the area with the average home costing $127,904. The median priced home in the state is $178,000.

This year's average sale price in Montour is $175,243.

Rick Coup, multiple listing service vice president, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, reported pending U.S. home sales from April showed a solid rise. Coup expects more sales to result since it typically takes one to two months from the time a contract is signed until the home is actually sold.

Also participating were Realtors board president Barbara Hamilton, board executive officer Norma Jean Fritz, board coordinator Diane Postupack and board administrative assistant Donna Ansley.