Existing-home sales, prices rise in March

Condo prices jump nearly 16% in past year
Inman News
The rate of existing-home sales, including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 4.9 percent in March compared with the March 2004 rate, the National Association of Realtors announced today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales was 6.89 million, compared with 6.82 million in February 2005 and 6.57 million in March 2004. The seasonally adjusted annual rate projects a monthly sales total over a 12-month period. The record was a sales rate of 7.02 million in June 2004, followed by 6.98 million in November 2004, the association announced.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $195,000 in March, up 11.4 percent from March 2004 and up 2.1 percent from February 2005. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. The median condo price was $206,800, up 15.9 percent from the same month a year ago. Condo sales last month accounted for 12.3 percent of market activity.

David Lereah, the association's chief economist, said, "With mortgage interest rates remaining historically low, gains in the labor market and economic growth appear to have lifted the confidence of home buyers. There's no question there is a strong demand for housing from a growing population."

Al Mansell, association president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Salt Lake City, said this is the third consecutive month in which home prices have experienced double-digit annual gains. "Although there are solid fundamentals underlying the strength of the housing market, we'd really like to see a bigger supply of homes so people don't feel pressured when making purchase decisions or contract offers," he said.

Total housing inventory levels fell 0.2 percent at the end of March to 2.33 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a four-month supply at the current sales pace.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 5.93 percent in March, up from 5.63 percent in February; the rate was 5.45 percent in March 2004.

Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales slipped 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 845,000 units in March from a level of 846,000 units in February. Last month's sales activity was 7 percent above the 790,000-unit pace in March 2004, the association announced.

Single-family home sales rose 1.2 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.04 million from a level of 5.97 million in February. Last month's sales activity was 4.5 percent above the 5.78 million-unit pace in March 2004. The median single-family home price was $193,600 in March, up 11.3 percent from a year earlier.

Regionally, total existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 2 percent to an annual rate of 1.55 million units in March, and were 3.3 percent above March 2004. The median price in the Midwest was $159,000, up 11.2 percent from a year earlier.

Existing-home sales in the West increased 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.63 million units in March, and were 5.8 percent higher than the same month a year ago. The median existing-home price in the West was $289,000, up 18.9 percent from March 2004.

The home resale pace in the South rose 0.4 percent from February to an annual rate of 2.57 million units in March, and was 4.9 percent higher than March 2004. The median price of an existing home in the South was $169,000, which was 7 percent higher than a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Northeast held even at an annual pace of 1.14 million units in March, and were 5.6 percent above the level of a year ago. The median existing-home price in the Northeast was $242,000, up 14.7 percent from March 2004.