Zebulon — Sales of existing homes in eastern Wake County are suffering from the same factors, such as falling consumer confidence and tightening credit, as many other areas across the country. But local real estate brokers think sales will start to rebound again later this fall and point out many potential buyers are just discovering the area.

“There’s no denying it, home sales are down,” said William Parrish, who owns Parrish Realty in Zebulon and Wendell. “We are selling about half as many existing single-family homes as we used to.”

Sales of existing homes in the Triangle fell by 37 percent in June. It was the 12th consecutive monthly decline. Local homes sales totaled 2,531 in the month, according to the Triangle Multiple Listing Service. In June 2007, 4,001 homes changed owners.

Parrish said eastern Wake homes priced between $250,000 and $350,000 are still selling, but starter homes are moving slowly. He thinks gas and food price hikes are hitting first-time buyers worse than more affluent home shoppers.

Real estate broker Kimberly Boylston, who works for Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, said that according to her experience, the market is “fairly steady” at the $250,000 price point.The sale of homes priced between $250,000 and $350,000 has picked up “a little over the summer.”

Both Parrish and Boylston said the sales of luxury homes in eastern Wake have taken a hit.

But Boylston, who lives in Wendell, believes the Knightdale-Wendell-Zebulon area is one of the least-affected corners of the Triangle in existing home sales. People who have looked at other areas of the Triangle are now interested in eastern Wake due to the new U.S. 64/264 Bypass and new shopping opportunities as well as the expanding network of schools.

“Wendell schools, for instance, have a good track record, and that’s important to a lot of families,” she said. “In general, the more the word gets out about eastern Wake, the better we will do.”

Also the area’s geographic location could help home sales, Parrish said.

“Especially now when gas prices are high, people want to live as close to their jobs as possible,” he said. “That could mean that people who drive from Rocky Mount or other points east of the Triangle to Raleigh for work are interested in relocating closer to their jobs. And especially Zebulon has traditionally been an employment center itself.”

For those who are looking for a new home, this is a great time, both Parrish and Boylston said.

“Home prices are good and interest rates are still low,” Parrish said.

“It’s definitely a buyers’ market,” Boylston added.

However, the brokers say they are starting to see a slight shift. Parrish, who has been in the business for 38 years, thinks buyer traffic could be more like it used to this fall, while Boylston said that if interest rates stay low, “things should be more like they used to” by the end of the year.