Washington Business Journal - by Jeff Clabaugh
Existing-home sales plunged nationwide in July, but prices were higher than a year ago with price gains in Washington among the biggest in the nation.
The National Association of Realtors reports July existing-home sales dropped 27.2 percent from June and were down 25.5 percent from a year earlier. Existing-home sales last month fell to the lowest level in more than a decade.
Washington-area sales also plunged, falling 18.4 percent from the previous month. Existing-home sales in Baltimore were down 17.9 percent.
The Realtors group expects sales to be soft for several more months.
"Consumers rationally jumped into the market before the deadline for the homebuyer tax credit expired," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "However, given the rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and historically high housing affordability conditions, the pace of a sales recovery could pick up quickly, provided the economy consistently adds jobs."
Nationwide, existing-home prices rose 0.7 percent from year-ago levels.
In Washington, the year-over-year price gain was 4 percent, to an average sales price of $351,100. Washington's gain in prices was the fourth strongest among the nation's 20 largest markets, topped only by Boston, New York and San Diego
Read more: D.C. home prices post healthy gain - Washington Business Journal
