Existing-home sales down in Nevada, U.S.

WASHINGTON -- Sales of previously owned homes, largely immune to the run-up in mortgage rates earlier this year, fell 2.3 percent in June when rates reached the highest average in more than a year.

The home sales decline was just the second in 1996. Only the South experienced increased sales.

The National Association of Realtors said today sales of existing single-family homes totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.18 million, down from a record 4.28 million in May.

The May rate, revised up from 4.26 million, broke the previous high of 4.26 million in December 1993.

After plunging 3.9 percent last January, sales rose in every month except April when they were unchanged. As a result, sales were up 10 percent from a year ago despite rising mortgage rates. Sales totaled 3.80 million in 1995.

In Southern Nevada, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported a 2.5 percent decrease in existing-home sales in June.

A jump in the number of sales of four-bedroom and larger homes in Southern Nevada in June boosted the average and median sales prices for the month. The average price climbed from $135,971 to $150,064 while the median was at $123,000 from $114,500. The median means half of the homes cost more and half cost less.

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 8.32 percent in June, up from 8.07 in May and the same as April 1995. The average had fallen to 7.03 percent last January.

Realtors President Art Godi said the spring home buying season was dominated by consumers jumping to purchase before rates rose further.

The monthly payment on a $100,000 mortgage with a 7 percent interest rate is $665, while the payment on the same loan with an 8.5 percent rate is $769 -- a difference of $104.

Also adding to the cost of a home was a 5.6 percent increase in the median price to $122,700 from $116,000 in June 1995.

Regionally, the South posted the only gain in sales, up 0.6 percent to a 1.59 million annual rate. The median price was $106,200.

Sales were unchanged in the Northeast at a 640,000 rate. The median price there was $146,100.

But sales fell 8.9 percent to 1.02 million in the Midwest, where the median price was $105,000, and 1.1 percent to 920,000 in the West, where the median price was $157,200.

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