HOME VALUES RISE OVER MOST OF NATION

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 10, 1993                   TAG: 9302100084
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
HOME VALUES RISE OVER MOST OF NATION
Property values rose in most areas of the nation during the final quarter of 1992, a real estate trade group said Tuesday. The exceptions generally were in California and some parts of the Northeast.
A survey of 125 metropolitan areas by the National Association of Realtors showed increases in 101 communities over the same period a year earlier in the prices of previously owned, single-family detached and attached homes.
The median price of a home rose 5.5 percent in the Midwest and 4.3 percent in the South.
Although there were several markets in the Northeast posting gains, the median price for the region fell 0.8 percent. It slumped 1.1 percent in the West, where many California markets continue to struggle.
Low mortgage rates and improving consumer confidence were credited with sparking buyer demand and driving up prices.
"Consumers have started feeling more confident about buying big-ticket items," said Realtors president William S. Chee. "We're seeing a lot of pent-up demand being absorbed."
Fourth-quarter sales totaled 4.22 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 18.3 percent from 3.56 million a year earlier.
John A. Tuccillo, the Realtors chief economist, said housing activity in 1993 is expected to surpass that of last year, as more consumers resume house hunting.
The national median price was $103,400, or 4.3 percent above that of a year earlier. The median price means half of the homes cost more and half less.
Sixty-three areas posted price gains exceeding the national increase.
Honolulu continued to have the highest-priced homes, with the median up 5.1 percent to $352,000. At the low end was Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, up 12 percent to $49,400.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB