Home Sales Still Rising To Records
By VIKAS BAJAJ
Published: July 26, 2005
The nation's roaring housing market set its second record in three months as sales of existing homes climbed 2.7 percent in June, to 7.33 million, according to a report released yesterday.
Low mortgage rates and strong demand drove the frenetic sales activity, which defied expectations that the market was starting to cool, at least in some of the hottest regions. The median price - half the homes sold were more expensive, half were less expensive - rose at nearly its highest annual pace in almost 25 years, 14.7 percent, to a record $219,000. It was just short of the April year-over-year advance of 15.1 percent.
The average sales price climbed 9.4 percent, to $268,000.
The report, from the National Association of Realtors, provides yet another sign that the housing market remains vibrant and is playing a big part in the nation's economic expansion. But it added to fears among some economists and policy makers that the boom might eventually turn into a bust in some locations.
The locations showing the greatest gains in prices were in the West, where the median price for the region was up 17.4 percent, and in the Northeast, where the median price rose 13.6 percent. The median price gains in the Midwest and the South were smaller, but still healthy: 12.7 percent for the Midwest and 9 percent in the South....
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/26/business/26econ.html