April sales of previously owned single-family homes and condos fell by an expected 2%, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median price of homes for April saw an increase in price to $223,000, a gain of 4.2% when compared to April of 2005. This marks the smallest year-over-year price increase since September 2001. The price gain is also significantly below the double-digit appreciation experienced in 2005. The inventory of existing homes continues to rise, hitting a record of 3.38 million units for April. This leaves a six-month supply at the April sales pace, the highest level of backlog since January of 1998. Sales of single-family homes fell by 2% to an annual rate of 5.92 million units. The sales of condominiums were down by 2.7% to an annual rate of 839,000 units. Condominium prices only declined by 0.2%, yet marked the first year-over-year price decline since the spring of 1995. All regions experienced declines in sales. The Midwest was down by 3.7%, the South by 1.9%, the West by 1.4% and the Northeast by 0.8%. David Lereah, chief economist for the NAR, says that not all markets are on the downward slope. While some once-hot markets in Florida, California and Arizona are cooling off, others are starting to heat up. Lereah points to Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Georgia, Utah and New Mexico as new hot markets for the country. |
