Douglas County homes sales continue to set records in 2003.

County officials recorded 146 single-family home sales in October — the most ever recorded for the month, and up nearly 9 percent from the record 134 houses sold in October a year ago.

One hundred sixteen of this October’s sales were made within the city of Lawrence.

“It has been a tremendous year, even in the face of all the refinancing activity that has been going on in the market,” said Mark Buhler, sales manager at Stephens Real Estate. “This might end up being our company’s best year.”

The October tally also was up about 14 percent from September, when 128 houses were sold.

Sale prices also continued to rise from year-ago levels, according to the new report from the Douglas County Appraiser’s Office. The average price in Douglas County rose to $176,444 in October, up 6 percent from $166,317 in October 2002. But prices fell from September, when the average sale price was $185,114.

“The challenge here remains finding affordable housing,” Buhler said.

Affordability is one reason Buhler is predicting 2004 sales will not be quite as strong in Lawrence. He predicted outlying communities such as Eudora, Baldwin, De Soto and Gardner would begin absorbing more homebuyers looking for low-to-moderately priced homes.

Here’s a look at sales from elsewhere in Douglas County:

• Lawrence, excluding North Lawrence: 116 sales, up from 96 in September and 96 in October 2002. Average price was $181,670, down from $198,163 in September but up from $173,552 a year ago.
• North Lawrence: Six sales, down from seven in September and 10 in October 2002. Average price was $104,900, up from $102,400 in September and down from $107,570 a year ago.
• Baldwin: Five sales, down from seven in September and unchanged from October 2002. Average price was $174,200, up from $130,564 and from $121,880 a year ago.
• Eudora: 12 sales, up from nine in September and down from 14 in October 2002. Average price was $152,864, down from $160,467 and up from $138,379 a year ago.
• Rural area: Seven sales, down from eight in September and eight in October. Average price was $193,174, up from $180,119 and down from $241,668.