Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

Existing Home Sales Increase 7.7 Percent

  • September 21, 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

Existing Home Sales Increase 7.7 Percent: Figure 1

A day after some not-so-good news on the national housing front, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales rose 7.7 percent last month, exceeding analysts’ predictions of a 2.7 percent increase.

Existing home sales, which consist of closed transactions on single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops, in the South region (where DC is located) increased by 3.8 percent between July and August. The median price in the region last month was $151,000, 0.8 percent lower than August 2010.

NAR economist Lawrence Yun on today’s news:

“Some of the improvement in August may result from sales that were delayed in preceding months, but favorable affordability conditions and rising rents are underlying motivations. Investors were more active in absorbing foreclosed properties. In addition to bargain hunting, some investors are in the market to hedge against higher inflation.”

Whether or not the optimistic sales trend will continue is a big question mark, particularly in areas like DC where the maximum size of government-backed loans is set to drop from $729,750 to $625,500 on October 1.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/existing_home_sales_increase_7.7_percent/4194

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Visit guides.urbanturf.com or start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse