DATE: Saturday, October 4, 1997             TAG: 9710040577

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

HOME SALES IN AREA HIT THREE-MONTH LULL

Home sales around Hampton Roads dipped over the summer, despite improving around Virginia, according to local real estate agents and a state trade group's surveys.

The Virginia Association of Realtors reports that sales in the state were up in June, July and August between 6 percent and 10 percent, compared to the same months last year. The trade group attributed the increase to stable interest rates and growing consumer confidence.

Sales in Hampton Roads, however, were down between 5 percent and 15 percent, the group reported.

Some agents say summer is traditionally the most active moving time for families because children are out of school. But agents in Hampton Roads say that the industry is cyclical, and that it's tough to pinpoint exactly why homes are selling and where they are selling.

One factor affecting home sales in Hampton Roads, and not the rest of the state, is the military.

``We're linked to the military communities, and they weren't moving as much,'' said Gene Truskett of William E. Wood real estate in Newport News.

``We could just be in a down time because the market is cyclical, but it could be related to veteran and military buyers,'' he said.

Sales in the Southside and Peninsula, recently reported together in the Realtors' survey, were down 10.85 percent in August, compared to the same month last year. In July, sales were down 5.77 percent.

Because of the change in reporting by the local multiple listing services, it's unclear how many sales from the Peninsula are included in the numbers.

In June, the Realtors' survey shows, sales in the Southside were down 15.48 percent. On the Peninsula, they were down 7.59 percent.

Agents and industry watchers warned not to read too much into numbers, however.

Candy McGrath, the managing broker in Long and Foster's Virginia Beach office, said she noticed just a slight dip in sales this summer overall, but said sales in Chesapeake and Suffolk were strong. Some other cities might ``be throwing the curve'' for the region, she suggested.

Lydia Kapentanakis, from Real Estate Information Network Inc., which tracks sales on the Peninsula and in South Hampton Roads, said there were probably many factors affecting sales this summer.

She said many homeowners bought or refinanced last year. Consumer debt is up, leaving some first-time buyers unable to qualify for a loan. There are more houses on the market than buyers, she said, allowing the buyers to be choosier and negotiate prices longer. And, she said, military and corporate moves slowed.

``It's just a vegetable soup of reasons,'' she said.

But Truskett, president of the Virginia Peninsula Association of Realtors, said no one is alarmed by the summer slump. He said sales likely will remain down through the holiday season - never a popular time to move - but likely will pick up in February. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

NUMBERS: Southside and Peninsula sales were down 10.85 percent in

August, compared to the numbers a year ago. KEYWORDS: HOME SALES HAMPTON ROADS

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