THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 4, 1996 TAG: 9609040550
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 34 lines
Feeling confident about their pocketbooks, more people are buying houses in Hampton Roads and Virginia.
Local home sales through July heated up in Hampton Roads, increasing 6.17 percent compared to the first seven months last year.
``Home sales are up all over the country,'' said Lisa Noon, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Association of Realtors.
In this region, pending sales through July hit 14,071 this year. That's up from 13,253 sales during the first seven months of 1995.
Pending sales - the number of houses under contract that haven't closed - are the best indicator of local home sales.
Noon pointed to a variety of houses on the market and continually low interest rates as the two main reasons for increasing sales.
The average loan rate for a 30-year conventional mortgage was 8.25 percent for the month, according to Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
``There's such a good supply of homes on the market, there's a lot of selection. People are out more, seeing more and have good incentive to buy,'' Noon said. ``Interest rates continue to stay historically low. There's a tremendous amount of activity in the market.''
Statewide, pending sales jumped 4.28 percent. Through July, 39,287 contracts had been placed compared with last year's 37,675. Houses in Virginia spent an average of 75 days on the market and sold for $107,596.
In South Hampton Roads, houses sold for $118,962 on average after 71 days on the market. Houses on the Peninsula spent 78 days on the market and sold for an average of $112,462. Williamsburg homes were shown longer, 126 days on average, but they also sold for higher prices, $177,960 on average. by CNB