The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their existing home sales report recently showing existing home sales are still off 3.4 percent from one year earlier. The report also indicated that home values fell 1.5 percent from just one year earlier, which makes it the the 7th straight month that home values have declined.
Single-family home sales are 3.4 percent below the 6.09 million-unit pace in February 2006. The median existing single-family home price was $211,100 in February, down 1.5 percent from a year ago.
The report included some more bad news for total housing inventorys levels which rose 5.9 percent at the end of February to 3.75 million existing homes available for sale which is a 6.7 month supply at the current sales pace compared with a 6.6 month supply in Janaury. The rise in inventory will likely put further downward pressure on home prices.
Existing home sales in the Northereast surged 14.2 percent to a level of 1.21 million in February, and are 3.4 percent higher than February 2006. The median existing home price in the Northereast was $265,900, down 1.4 percent from a year ago.
Speculation about a recovery in the housing market, in particular the new home market, has centered around the rising costs of material and labor for builders and the still favorable interest rate market. In addition, the Northern Virginia Metro area employment growth will certainly work in our favor.
Frank Ramos, REALTOR, e-PRO
Real Estate Consultant
http://www.northvirginiahomes.com/
Jobin Realty
Manassas, VA 20110