The real estate market in Durango is showing steady sales and higher prices this summer.

The luxury market in particular is back, attracting second-home buyers with money to spend.

In July and August, more than 30 percent of transactions in the market area were paid for in cash, according to Multiple Listing Service data.

Overall, the market appears steady, if not flat.

July saw 107 residential sales, down slightly from 111 in July 2013. In August, there were 90 sales through Thursday, down from 106 for the same period in 2013.

“The market’s been doing well,” said Nicole Perino, a broker associate at The Wells Group in Durango. “From a numbers standpoint, it looks fairly flat compared to 2013, but we had a big jump from 2012 to 2013.”

At the same time, properties continue to sell quickly, with fewer days on market.

The median price of homes sold in July was $330,000, up 5 percent from a ago; while in August it was $350,700, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier.

The median price can vary quite a bit from month to month, and it is influenced by the inventory of homes for sale.

“Our inventory is pretty low in the lower price points,” said Kelly Kniffin, president of the Durango Area Association of Realtors and a Realtor with Legacy Properties West-Sotheby’s International Realty.

Meanwhile, the luxury home market has seen a resurgence, in part because prices have fallen.

“That million-dollar range is starting to go again,” Kniffin said.

Baby boomers are looking for second homes, and the lower prices are bringing buyers back to the market.

“There has been a significant decline in value from maybe four years ago,” she said.

Perino agreed that much of the market is being driven by the market for vacation homes. She said condominiums and townhomes, as well as resort properties, are appealing to these buyers.

“That second-home buyer has come back,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of out-of-state customers, Texas, specifically.”

Another price point that is selling briskly is below $400,000.

“The people that work and live here, that’s the price they can afford,” said Gabi Bergstrom, an agent with RE/MAX Pinnacle.

The latest numbers largely continue trends seen in the first half of the year: higher median prices, less time on market, but relatively flat sales.

“We’re kind of seeing what we saw last year,” said Bergstrom. “And last year was a very good year.”

cslothower@durangoherald.com