VA. HOMES SALES DROP IN JANUARY

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

DATE: SUNDAY, March 14, 1993                   TAG: 9303150594
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
VA. HOMES SALES DROP IN JANUARY
Virginia home sales for January dropped for the first time in months.
According to the Virginia home sales survey from the Virginia Association of Realtors 4,149 new and existing homes were sold, a 2 percent decrease. The drop was mostly in metropolitan areas of Northern Virginia, Tidewater and the Newport News-Hampton area. There have been some increases in other areas, however, including Southwest Virginia.
"These figures are typical for January, which is generally a slow month for home purchases," said VAR president, Edward Pagett. "I do not believe this slight decrease will be the trend throughout the year. Mortgage interest rates are still very low, and the improving weather will allow more [potential] homebuyers to go out and look," he said.
The chart at right represents local homes sales for January.
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by Archana Subramaniam by CNB