ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, November 26, 1996             TAG: 9611260098
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOMES POST ANOTHER DECLINE

Sales of existing homes dropped for a fifth straight month in October as housing demand, one of the stars of this economic expansion, showed further signs of slowing.

The National Association of Realtors said that resales of single-family homes dipped 1.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted 3.97 million units.

Private economists said the decrease provided further evidence that the economy was slowing from its sizzling springtime pace. But in its latest quarterly outlook, the nation's business economists said there appeared to be no danger that the slowdown could weaken into a recession.

In fact, the National Association of Business Economists survey predicted that the performance over the next five years should look much like the past five years - moderate growth averaging 2.5 percent and inflation just under 2.9 percent.

``Moderate economic growth and low inflation will continue throughout 1997 and probably much longer,'' the association said in a survey compiled from responses from 44 top forecasters.

The Realtors reported that the 1.5 percent decline in existing home sales followed an even bigger 2.7 percent drop in September. Existing home sales have been declining steadily since May.

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