HOME SALES HOP TO IT IN ROANOKE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 1, 1992                   TAG: 9202010110
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
HOME SALES HOP TO IT IN ROANOKE
New-home sales nationally plunged in 1991 to their lowest level in nine years, the government said Friday, but analysts predicted improvement this year if mortgage rates remain low and the economy begins to grow.
But in the Roanoke Valley, figures released Friday showed that falling mortgage interest rates sent home sales soaring in January.
The Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors' Multiple Listing Service said 245 homes changed owners last month, up 109 percent from the 117 sales in January 1991 and 99 percent from 123 transactions in December.
Figures indicate first-time buyers moved into the market in January. Of the total sales, 171 homes cost less than $100,000, and the median price of all Roanoke Valley sales was $79,950.
Sixty-four homes sold in the $100,000 bracket, six in the $200,000 range and three between $300,000 and $400,000. One home sold last month cost more than $600,000, the MLS reported.
Sales of single-family homes nationally were down 6.6 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 522,000 units. The departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development said that was the steepest decline since a 10.8 percent plunge in the recession year of 1981.
The national report showed the Northeast and West posted gains in December, while the Midwest and the South lost ground. For the year, all regions posted losses except for the Midwest.
David F. Seiders, an economist with the National Association of Home Builders, said an early January survey of builders showed the "tone was much improved . . . in terms of buyer interest, traffic and actual sales."
Seiders predicted sales will rise to 584,000 this year without any federal tax-credit stimulus. If Congress does act, he said, sales could be significantly higher.
Business writer Mag Poff contributed to this story.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB