November Home Sales Up
Sunday, December 31st, 2006November brought some welcome news that Existing home sales were up but the price of homes sold in November fell for the fourth consecutive month.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes rose 0.6 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.28 million units. That followed a 0.5 percent sales increase in October and marked the first back-to-back sales gains since the spring of 2005.
The median price for an existing home sold in November dropped to $218,000, down 3.1 percent from the price a year ago. It was the first time on record that sales prices compared to a year ago have fallen for four straight months. The report on existing home sales offered some hope that the housing slump may be bottoming out. It followed a report Wednesday that showed that new home sales rose 3.4 percent in November, the third gain in the past four months. Rates on 30-year mortgages rose for a third straight week as investors viewed improving economic reports as a sign that the Federal Reserve will not quickly cut interest rates
Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.18 percent this week. That was up from 6.13 percent last week. However, it was still well below the high point for this year, which was 6.80 percent back in July.
The increase in recent weeks came after a prolonged slide in rates, which helped set the state for a rebound in sales of both new and existing homes.
Frank Ramos, REALTOR, e-PRO
Real Estate Consultant
http://www.northvirginiahomes.com/
http://www.agent-wealth.com/
Keller Williams Fairfax Gateway
12700 Fair Lakes Circle Suite 120
Fairfax, VA 22033