THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010509
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Local home sales dropped 8.5 percent in January, as interest rate increases spooked prospective home buyers and prevented some from qualifying for loans.
``It's indicative that any real estate market is very interest rate sensitive,'' said Richard B. Thurmond, president of William E. Wood and Associates Realtors. According to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., fixed-rate, 30-year mortgages averaged 9.15 percent in January, up sharply from 7.07 percent in January 1994.
Hampton Roads reported 1,260 pending home sales in January, down slightly from 1,377 in January 1994. Pending home sales - single-family houses under contract that have not closed - are the best indicator of existing-home sales.
Of the single-family homes sold in January, the average sales price for the Peninsula was $114,260 and $102,325 for the Southside.
Pending home sales also fell in the commonwealth to 3,824 in January, a 3.8 percent decline from the same period last year. The Northeast was the only region of the country to report a gain in home sales according to the National Association of Realtors.
Nationally, homes sales fell 4.5 percent in January to the lowest level in 21 months. The National Association of Realtors said that sales of existing single-family homes totaled 3.59 million at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, down from 3.76 million in December. The January rate, lowest since 3.46 million in April 1993, also was 13.9 percent below the 4.17 million pace during January 1994. by CNB