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New home sales improve Date published: 7/28/2009 By Bill Freehling From staff and wire reports
New U.S. home sales rose by the largest amount in more than eight years last month, another sign the housing market is finally bouncing back from the worst downturn in decades. The U.S. Commerce Department said yesterday that sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, up from 346,000 in May. It was the strongest sales pace since November 2008 and exceeded the forecasts of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a pace of 360,000 units. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000. Sales have risen for three straight months. The median sales price of $206,200, however, was down 12 percent from $234,300 a year earlier and nearly 6 percent from $219,000 in May. The report is another encouraging sign that the beleaguered housing sector is finally coming back to life. Last Thursday, the National Association of Realtors reported that home re-sales posted a monthly increase of 3.6 percent in June. There were 281,000 new homes for sale at the end of June, down more than 4 percent from May. At the current sales pace, that represents 8.8 months of supply--the lowest level since October 2007. Fallout from the housing crisis has played a central role in the U.S. recession, now the longest since World War II. Foreclosures have spiked, homebuilders have slashed construction, and financial companies have lost billions. AREA MARKET RISING, TOO The Fredericksburg-area housing market has also shown signs of life lately, though it continues to be dominated by foreclosure sales. June also tends to be the strongest month for sales. There were 472 homes sold in the Fredericksburg area (city and King George, Caroline, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties) last month, a three-year high. Local builders are also reporting increased activity, though the pace is still well down from the boom. There were 102 permits filed to build single-family detached houses in the Fredericksburg area last month, the most since August. Forty-eight of those permits were filed in Stafford County, more than triple the number filed there in June 2008. --Staff reporter Bill Freehling contributed to this Associated Press report.
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