Area Single-Family Home Sales Rose 8 Percent Last Year
Sales of single-family homes jumped 8 percent last year in the Washington area, mostly because of low interest rates and the availability of more affordable entry-level housing.</br></br>But the growth in sales last year was not matched by price increases. The median price rose just 2 percent, to $198,200. Nationally the consumer price index rose 3 percent during the same period.</br></br>The figures are a bright contrast to 1991, when the median price of $195,150 was slightly below the previous yearÛªs, and well below 1989's median price of $204,400. Sales also had fallen 5 percent in 1991, according to the data compiled by Rufus S. Lusk & Son Inc., a local real estate information company. The median price is the point at which half the homes cost more and half cost less.</br></br>The figures include sales of town houses and detached houses, but not condominiums. [For condominium sales data, see Page E3.J that the data's relevance for a particular area depends on the homogeneity of existing housing and new construction.</br></br>ÛÏYou can have a Zip Code with a small number of sales and if you have a fairly significant developmentÛÓeither at the low end or the higher end [of a price range]ÛÓthat can skew the statistics,Û Lusk said.