| US housing prices down but DC recovers { April 2007 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.examiner.com/a-747322~District_housing_market_shows_recovery_signs.htmlhttp://www.examiner.com/a-747322~District_housing_market_shows_recovery_signs.html
District housing market shows recovery signs
David Francis, The Examiner 2007-05-25 07:00:00.0 Current rank: # 245 of 11,949 WASHINGTON -
News on the national and local housing market was mixed in April, with the District and its inner suburbs began to show signs of strength, according to new data released Thursday.
The Commerce Department found that the sale of new homes increased by the largest amount in 14 years, while the median price of homes dropped. Locally, prices and volume remained relatively flat, reflecting what local real estate experts believe will be a gradual recovery.
Across the country, sales of new single-family homes went up 16 percent in April from March, much higher than the 0.2 percent expected by economists. Median price, on the other hand, was sharply down, falling 11 percent from March to $229,100.
According to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, median sale price in the Virginia suburbs went down about 1 percent in April to $470,000, while volume was down 12 percent from the same time last year.
“Essentially, we see that the existing-home market is stabilizing in a broad cyclical trough and moving in the right direction, with a modest gain from the fourth quarter,” said Lawrence Yun, senior economist with the National Association of Realtors. “Conditions changed fairly rapidly during the boom, but we need more patience now to see a slow, gradual recovery, which should start in the second half of this year.”
In the District and areas close to its Maryland and Virginia borders, however, the market is beginning to gain steam, according to real estate broker Donna Evers. She said while sales volume is down, prices have started to go up after months of steady declines.
“The closer you get to the city, the hotter the market is,” she said. “If you look across the country, recovery has not occurred; they’re still in 2006 mode. Recovery has certainly occurred in Washington this spring.”
It appears as if Wall Street investors are also still in 2006 mode. The housing numbers sent the market lower, as the jump in home sales means the Federal Reserve is less likely to cut interest rates.
dfrancis@dcexaminer.com Examiner
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