We know the housing market is down everywhere, including the Capital Region. Overall, closed sales in 2010 were down 7.6 percent from the previous year, according to November statistics from the Greater Capital Region Association of Realtors.

But what the data don’t show is the type of properties that might be skewing the numbers lower — high-end or luxury homes that are selling slower than other properties.

Only 18 homes in the 13-county Capital Region sold for more than $1 million as of the middle of December, compared with 29 at the height of the real estate boom in 2005 — a 37 percent decline, said Marc Weiss, broker for Keller Williams Realty Capital District. Homes listed from $500,000 to $800,000 also saw a 30 percent drop, from 261 sold in 2005 to 182 sold in 2010, according to Weiss’ analysis.

However, the reason more expensive properties aren’t selling is not simply that people don’t have the money to afford them.

Weiss said banks simply are not handing out as many mortgages as they did during the housing boom that topped out around 2006. The same person who could supposedly afford a $600,000 house five years ago might not be able to obtain that same mortgage today, because of stricter lending standards.

As a result, there is a smaller pool of buyers for higher-end properties, Weiss said.

Pat Hoffman, associate broker at Prudential Manor Homes in Clifton Park, said there are clients out there who can afford higher-end properties — but they have to sell their $450,000 house first in a slow market.

“The low end is still selling. There will always be first-time home buyers, or there are always people who look for the bargains,” Hoffman said. “I think the $250,000 and $350,000 is selling. But as you keep moving up and up the ladder, the harder it is to sell the house you have.”

Eileen Buonome, associate broker with Coldwell Banker Prime Properties in Guilderland, said there are buyers in the Capital Region who can afford more expensive homes, but the recession has sucked the confidence out of some buyers. They do not want to commit to a larger monthly payment, in case their investments plummet, they lose their pensions or they get laid off from their jobs.

“People just don’t have that confidence to move forward,” Buonome said. “Even though interest rates are down, the state threat of layoffs also further erodes consumer confidence.”

Mary Lou Pinckney, associate broker with Coldwell Banker Prime Properties, said that she has clients who are moving from Texas and other states for jobs in the Albany area, but they can’t sell their homes there. “They say, ‘I’ll just sit it out; I’ll rent and see what transpires,'” Pinckney said.

Also, home shoppers know that it’s a recession and are waiting for prices to go down — which some inevitably do.

“They think houses will be there forever, and they’re right, the houses are still there,” Buonome said, noting that houses that would sell in 90 days a few years ago may spend six months or more on the market now.

But Pinckney said she thinks that high-end homes will be moving when spring hits. The uptick in median home prices in our area of around 1 to 2 percent illustrates that homes are keeping their value here, and that the market has the potential to be strong, she said.

Lauren Stanforth can be reached at 454-5697 or lstanforth@timesunion.com.