DATE: Tuesday, November 11, 1997            TAG: 9711110419

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT 

                                            LENGTH:   32 lines

HOME VALUE FIGURE IS WRONG, SAY REALTORS HAMPTON ROADS DECLINE LINKED TO CHANGE IN SURVEY.

A double-digit decline in Hampton Roads' housing values, as reported Monday in a national survey, is inaccurate, according to an economist at the National Association of Realtors.

Released Monday by the association, the survey reports that the value of most Americans' homes is rising much faster than inflation.

But a remarkable 11.9 percent decline in Hampton Roads shouldn't have been reported, the economist said.

The confusion was caused by the recent merger between the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads multiple listing services, which track home sales locally.

Comparing the numbers from the third quarter of 1996 and the same time period in 1997 ``is like comparing apples and oranges because the area covered by the multiple listing service changed,'' said senior economist Jason Altman.

Nationally, the median price of an existing home during the third quarter ending in September was $126,500, a 5 percent increase from the same period last year, the association said. The median price means half the homes sold for more and half for less.

Consumer prices overall rose just 2.2 percent over that period.

Waterloo, Iowa, led the nation in price appreciation, with values jumping 17.2 percent. It was followed by Kalamazoo, Mich., 14.5 percent; New Orleans and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 11.3 percent, and Memphis, Tenn., 11.2 percent.

Cities with declines included Honolulu, 6 percent; Beaumont, Texas, 4.4 percent; El Paso, Texas, and Hartford, Conn., both 3.8 percent.

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