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

DATE: SUNDAY, May 23, 1993                   TAG: 9305210191
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-14   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

HOME SALES DOWN; PRICES UP

However, John T. Mentzer, Virginia real estate professor of marketing at Virginia Tech, says he's optimistic about the rest of the year.

During the first quarter, 141 homes were sold, three more than the 1992 quarter. But they sold faster, averaging 157 days on the market, compared with 176 a year ago, and at an average price of $81,962, more than $6,000 higher than a year ago.

Despite the sluggish numbers for March, he said, "the overall indicators point to a slowly improving real estate market in the New River Valley."

Sixty-two homes sold in March, four fewer than a year earlier. The average price was $84,374, nearly $3,000 more than a year earlier.

Mentzer collects and analyzes residential real estate figures for the New River Valley Association of Realtors.