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Pioneer Press Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:06:36 -0600
Home sales rise as prices tumble

WASHINGTON â€" Sales of existing homes increased unexpectedly in February after six months of decline, but private economists said it was too soon to say the prolonged slide in housing is coming to an end. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose by 2.9 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units. It marked the first sales increase since July, but even with the gain sales were still 23.8 percent below where they were a year ago. Prices continued to slide. The median sales price for single-family homes and condominiums dropped to $195,900, a fall of 8.2 percent from a year ago, the biggest slide in the current housing slump. The median price for single-family homes was down 8.7 percent from a year ago, the biggest decline in four decades. Economists said they still believe any sustained housing rebound was many months away. "The hemorrhaging has stopped but the recovery will be long, slow and painful," said Bernard Baumohl, managing director of the Economic Outlook Group. "It's unlikely that we will see any sustained jump in home purchases, much less higher prices, until mid-2009 at the earliest."

[[keywords: Housing;Metro;]]