CONFLICT CONFUSES HOUSING MARKET

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

DATE: SUNDAY, January 10, 1993                   TAG: 9301080062
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-20   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
CONFLICT CONFUSES HOUSING MARKET
Uncertainty about the economy seems to be causing a conflict in the residential real estate market in the New River Valley - an increase in buying and a decrease in selling.
Homes under contract and homes sold increased in October from September and from October 1991, but homes new to the market have decreased, said John T. Mentzer, Virginia Real Estate professor of marketing at Virginia Tech.
"The increase in homes closed [sold] and the drop in new offerings are both dramatic," he said.
"Although this may be a one-month blip in the data, short-term indications are that the mixed economic news and low interest rates are causing people to close now to lock in the low rates, but potential sellers are holding their homes off the market to see how the economy will develop," Mentzer said.
Mentzer compiles and interprets residential real estate information monthly for the New River Valley Association of Realtors.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB