New Home Sales Rise – Positive News For Florida Real Estate Market

Sales of new homes posted the biggest increase in five months in August, raising hopes that the recent slide in the housing industry may be leveling off. Sales of new single-family homes increased by 4.1 percent last month, far better than the 3 percent decline economists had been expecting and could signal that housing is beginning to level off after the slide. However, the price of homes sold in August fell to $237,000, down 1.3 percent from August 2005. From 2001 through 2005, housing enjoyed five consecutive years of record sales, propelled by the lowest mortgage rates in more than four decades. However, this year sales have been falling as mortgage rates rose and the economy slowed. The drop in sales and construction of new homes has been so sharp that some economists have worried that it could plunge the country into a recession. But other analysts argue that recent declines in mortgage rates should help put a floor on the housing decline. This statistics make positive news for the real estate market in general and for the Miami and Florida real estate market as well.

- Contributed by Paolo Scattarreggia of MLR Realty