Home Sales and Prices
Rose in First Quarter

A Wall Street Journal Online News Roundup

Sales of existing homes continued at a strong pace in the first quarter, while home-sale prices were higher across most metropolitan areas, according to a new survey.

The National Association of Realtors said today that existing-home sales rose 8.3% to 6.84 million units in the first quarter, up from the 6.32-million-unit sales rate a year earlier. The record was a pace of 6.90 million units in the second quarter of 2004.

Sixteen states recorded double-digit sales gains from a year earlier. The strongest year-over-year increase was in Alaska, where the resale pace was 21.4% above the first quarter of 2004. Wyoming rose 17.5%, and Oregon posted the third strongest increase, up 17.3%. Four states posted declines, and complete data weren't available for three states.

The association's home-price report, covering 136 metropolitan areas, showed a record 66 cities with double-digit annual increases and six areas posting small declines.

The NAR said the national median existing-home price rose 9.7% last quarter, to $188,800, up from $172,100 in the first quarter of 2004. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

David Lereah, the NAR's chief economist, attributed the increase to the tight supply of homes available for sale. "We simply don't have enough homes on the market to meet demand," he said in a prepared statement. "Low mortgage interest rates are drawing new households into the market, but some are disappointed by their inability to find a home that meets their needs."

According to Freddie Mac, the national average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.76% in the first quarter, up from 5.73% in the fourth quarter. The rate t was 5.6% in the first quarter of 2004.

Three Florida cities led the nation in price growth. The biggest price increase was in Bradenton, where the first quarter price of $275,100 rose 45.6% from a year earlier, followed by Sarasota up 35% at $326,300, and the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach area, with a first quarter median price of $362,800, up 35.9%.

May 17, 2005