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

DATE: SUNDAY, October 8, 1995                   TAG: 9510100045
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: D1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STATE HOMES SALES INCREASE IN AUGUST

Pending home sales in the state were up again in August, but they still lag slightly for the year, according to the home sales survey of the Virginia Association of Realtors.

The report shows that sales for the month of August were up compared to the same period last year. The association said 6,153 new and existing homes were placed under contract in August compared to last August's figure of 5,797, an increase of 6.14 percent.

For the first eight months of the year, however, 44,069 single family homes were placed under contract compared to 44,931 for the same period in 1994, a decrease of 1.92 percent.

In Southwest Virginia, on the other hand, August sales were off in the Roanoke and New River valleys and in the Martinsville area, while the Lynchburg area and Bristol saw healthy increases.

For the first eight months, only the Roanoke and New River valleys saw declines compared to last year.

The association said increases in home sales in August were seen in 13 of 24 areas reporting, including Bristol, Charlottesville, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Fredericksburg, the Northern Neck, Tidewater and Williamsburg.

Richmond sales were up 2.69 percent for the month, while Northern Virginia continued a recovery with a 3 percent increase for the month.

The average sales price for the state was $117,074, up from $109,314 last year.

Thomas N. Innes of Richmond, president of the association, said mortgage rates have remained reasonably steady since the last reporting period, as has the average price of houses. Overall, it appearsthat this year will be another banner year for home sales in the commonwealth."

by CNB