Home sales across the country have plummeted as a result of mortgage availability issues. Lawrence Yun, senior economist for the National Association of Realtors, said the market impact is quantifiable.

“Fewer contracts were being written because of mortgage availability issues, and a separate internal survey of our members shows more than 10 percent of sales contracts fell through at the last moment in August, primarily the result of cancelled commitments.”

But in Fairbanks, the economy is strong, prompting low vacancy rates and a healthy job market. Demand is strongest in residential properties selling at less than $200,000. But for sellers, competition is high in the $300,000 category as well, said Fairbanks North Star Borough Assessor Patrick Carlson.

“Properties continue to transact for those that are priced right,” Carlson said. “Unlike many markets nationally, the Fairbanks market did not increase at nearly the rate found in those markets.”

Yun said the impact nationally was greatest in high-cost markets. Some areas saw as much as 30 percent of signed building contracts fall through as a result of the credit crunch.

“The volume of activity we're seeing today is below sustainable market fundamentals because some credit-worthy people are trying to buy homes but can't because of the credit crunch,” he said.

The Fairbanks commercial sector remains healthy, as well, Carlson said.

“The military and resource extraction industries are doing well, as (are) the service and tourism categories,” he said.

Anchorage, Wasilla and Matanuska Valley housing sales are more or less mirroring the national trend, said state economist Neal Fried. But the boosts in military personnel stationed at Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base, both in the Fairbanks area, is likely affecting the demand for housing in the region.

Fort Wainwright spokeswoman Linda Douglass said the involuntary extension of the nearly 4,000 soldiers serving in Iraq likely contributed to the recent demand for housing. Douglass said the most recent population figures - through June 30 - show that roughly 6,200 soldiers with 7,300 dependents reside in Fairbanks.

“The (soldiers) coming in were supposed to be replacing the ones whose (tours were extended),” Douglass said. “For a while, we had a huge up-sling.”

Douglass said new housing units are being constructed to accommodate the soldiers and their families, and renovations on previous buildings are in the works, as well.

“We have eight-plexes that were built in the Ô50's and Ô60's (that we're) changing into four-plexes to accommodate bigger families,” Douglass said. “There are several projects underway.”

Douglass added that many domestic leases with landlords in the local area may also have an affect on the local market.