Sunday

 

N.Y. - most affordable housing market

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y., is the nation's most affordable housing market among major metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million, according to the newly released National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index for the fourth quarter of 2004.

Among smaller markets, Lima, Ohio rated tops for metros with fewer than 250,000 people, while Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, Mich., was the most affordable midsized market with 250,000 to just under 1 million people.

"A dip in mortgage rates during last year's final quarter made it easier for many families to become homeowners," said NAHB President, a custom home builder from Ketchum, Idaho. "That's true in Buffalo and across the country."

According to the index, the average interest rate on home mortgages fell to 5.77 percent in the fourth quarter compared to 5.83 percent in the third quarter. As a result, 52 percent of homes sold nationwide in the final months of 2004 were affordable to families earning the median U.S. household income of $57,500. This was up from 50.4 percent of homes sold that were affordable to those families in the third quarter, but well behind the 61.2 percent of homes affordable at the beginning of 2004.

"Make no mistake – we still have major work to address the housing affordability crunch in America," Wilson noted. "Out of the 160 metro areas in our survey, housing affordability fell in 73 locations between the third and fourth quarters of 2004. The fact remains that buying a home is becoming increasingly difficult for America's working families."

Buffalo-Niagara, N.Y., was the nation's most affordable major market and the sixth most affordable market overall – behind the less-populated metros of Lima, Ohio; Cumberland, Md.; Mansfield, Ohio; Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, Mich.; and Canton-Massillon, Ohio, respectively. In Buffalo, nearly 90 percent of homes sold in 2004's final quarter were affordable to families earning the area median income of $53,600. The median price of homes sold in the market during that period was $79,000.

With nine markets appearing on the "25 Most Affordable Metro Areas" list, Ohio wins the title of the most affordable state in which to buy a home nationwide. Illinois and Michigan tied as the second-most affordable states, with four metros in each appearing on the top-25 list.

On the flip side of the coin, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif. tied with Salinas, Calif. for the bottom-most spot on the "25 Least Affordable Metro Areas" list. With 19 entries on that list, California was once again the nation's least affordable state housing market overall. No other state had more than two entries in the least-affordable column.

"Nowhere are the effects of excessive regulation more apparent than in California's housing market," said Wilson. "In Los Angeles-Long Beach, where the median home price was $415,000 in the fourth quarter, a miniscule 5.2 percent of homes sold were affordable to median-income families earning $53,500 per year. That's a tough situation that needs to be addressed with reformed land-use policies that allow more affordable housing to be built."

The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 220,000 members involved in residential and light commercial construction.

Wednesday

 

Hot Housing Markets

The latest numbers: Double-digit gains in 62 markets; Florida steps into the limelight.

Anyone looking for signs of weakness in the real estate market will be disappointed, according to the National Association of Realtors.

A record number of metropolitan areas – 62 out of 129 – experienced double-digit home-price gains between the fourth quarter of 2003 and the fourth quarter of 2004. The previous record was set during the second quarter when 49 metros were up 10 percent or more.

Hot Housing Markets
The percentage increase for the period 4Q2003 - 4Q2004 are :
Las Vegas, NV 47.3
Riverside/San Bernardino, CA 34.7
West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, FL 34.0
Bradenton, FL 32.0
Sacramento, CA 31.5
Melbourne/Titusvile/Palm Bay, FL 30.5
Washington, DC 26.9
Ocala, FL 26.8
Ft. Myers/Cape Coral/Punta Gorda, FL 26.5
Sarasota, FL 25.8

The national median price for existing homes in the fourth quarter was $187,500, according to the NAR, an 8.8 percent increase from last year.

"With more buyers than sellers nationally, what we're seeing is a natural pressure on home prices as buyers compete to bid on available properties," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. "Fortunately, the historically low cost of debt service on a home purchase means that we have a comfortable buffer in most of the country because the typical family can afford to buy a home well above the median price."

Lereah's new book, "Are You Missing the Real Estate Boom?" (Currency/Doubleday), is scheduled to be released in March and predicts that real estate investments will climb through the end of the decade.

Las Vegas topped the list as the market with the greatest appreciation over the past 12 months, with a 47.3 percent gain. In San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California, prices were up 34.7 percent.

But Florida is stealing some of the limelight from California. Six of the top 10 markets for the fourth quarter were in the Sunshine State. Prices in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton increased 34 percent over the past year, while in Bradenton they were up 32 percent.

"The Boomers are in their peak earning years, buying second homes and retiring to Florida," said Lereah. "We're seeing a lot of development and a lot of building but demand is greater than supply."

As for California, "appreciation there is still healthy," said Lereah. "Realtors there say that there is still very little supply of homes for sale."

Though prices remain high, houses in Southern California aren't selling quite as fast as they used to. "Sales are strong, but not at a peak, and price increases are slowing down, especially in the markets that took off first back in 1998 and 1999," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president in a release yesterday.

Not everyone got rich on real estate in 2004. Homeowners in Atlanta, Chicago and Denver saw average gains of 3 percent, 2.7 percent and 1.7 percent respectively. Prices in four cities, including Austin and Indianapolis, fell during the past year.

"In the handful of areas with price declines, none had previously experienced rapid price growth," said Lereah. "In fact, they were all lower-cost areas experiencing one or both of the conditions necessary for temporary price softness -- local economic weakness, mainly in jobs, or a large supply of homes available in the local market."

 

High demand for homes with $10Million+ price tags

Upper-end real estate is red hot, with listings as high as $75 million, indicating much stronger sales of eight-figure homes, according to a published report.

USA Today reports that the number of homes selling for $10 million or more increased to 28 in 2004, up from 18 in that price range in 2003. And there are still a number of expensive homes on the market, according to the report.
The most expensive is the $75 million home in the Hamptons, the vacation area on eastern Long Island preferred by New York City's elite. It sits on 60 acres with 14 gardens and three ponds, in addition to the 18-hole golf course.

Many of the high-end prices are in traditionally high-end markets such as New York, San Francisco and Palm Beach, Fla.

Tuesday

 

Real estate remodeling slows in 4th quarter

Remodeling activity slowed slightly in the fourth quarter of 2004, as the year ended with unusually wet weather, according to the National Association of Home Builders Remodeling Market Index (RMI). The fourth-quarter results fell one point behind the seasonally adjusted third quarter of 2004.

"Although the RMI is seasonally adjusted, we still can't always predict the weather," said Remodelors Council Chairman Don Novak, a remodeler from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "The interest rates are still good, and remodelers are looking forward to a rebound in the spring."

The RMI is derived from a quarterly national survey of 500 remodelers. The current market conditions index fell one point, from 51.8 last quarter to 50.7. The future expectations index moved ahead from 52.4 to 54.

Regionally, current market conditions in the South fell 1.8 points from last quarter to 52.9, and future expectations remained virtually unchanged at 57.9. The West was the only region to post gains in current market conditions, moving from 56.9 to 58.7. Conversely, the West also saw the biggest drop in future expectations, falling from 62.3 to 57.3. Once again, the Midwest posted a mixed bag as it showed a minor slowdown in current activity, dropping from 46.6 to 46, but saw the biggest rebound in future expectations, moving from 44.4 to 48.8. The Northeast saw the biggest fall for the second quarter in a row, with current activity dropping from 52.8 to 46.7 and future expectations fall from 56.3 to 53.8.

"Despite the slowdown in the fourth quarter of 2004, the market remains positive as future expectations continues to record growth," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. "Calls for bids and appointments for proposals are still coming in, leading us to expect a healthy 2005."

Thursday

 

Freddie Mac unveils new home loan options

Borrowers with limited credit and savings have more options with a new suite of mortgage products from Freddie Mac, including the Home Possible Mortgage and the Home Possible Neighborhood Solution Mortgages.

The new Home Possible Mortgage combines borrower education and early delinquency counseling, zero and 3 percent down payment mortgage products, and flexible credit requirements.

An additional new program, Home Possible Neighborhood Solution Mortgages, offers the same flexibility plus special features designed to boost home-buying options for teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and health care workers by as much as 30 percent in some cases.

The loan products are available through Freddie Mac's national network of more than 2,000 lenders and 10,000 mortgage brokers using Loan Prospector, Freddie Mac's automated underwriting service.

Both products are available as 15-, 20- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages or as 7/1 or 10/1 adjustable-rate mortgages for one-unit properties.

The basic Home Possible mortgage is available either as a 100 percent loan-to-value mortgage that borrowers can use for single-family home purchases and no-cash-out refinancing, or as a 97 percent loan-to-value mortgage for one- to four-unit properties. Both the zero and 3 percent down payment versions of Home Possible allow borrowers to put down as little as $500 from their personal funds towards the down payment and closing costs for a one-unit property. Two-unit properties require borrowers to put in 3 percent of the property's value; 3-4-unit properties and manufactured homes require a 5 percent borrower contribution.

By combining a temporary subsidy buy-down with a higher debt-to-income ratio, Home Possible Neighborhood Solution is designed to boost the home-buying power of teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and health care workers by as much as 30 percent. For example, a borrower with adequate reserves earning $2,761 a month and making a 3 percent downpayment can boost her home-buying power from $200,000 to $260,400 by opting for a Home Possible Neighborhood Solution Mortgage over standard 97 percent loan-to-value mortgages, all other things being equal.

Home Possible Neighborhood Solution Mortgages allow for even higher debt-to-income ratios than a typical high LTV mortgage as well as a three-year subsidy buy-down that reduces the initial interest rate as much as 1.5 percentage points in the first year and 0.5 percentage points per year for the next two. The buy downs can come from a wide range of sources, such as gifts or grants. Qualified borrowers can use Home Possible Neighborhood Solution Mortgages to finance 1-2 unit properties in or near the communities they serve.

To qualify, borrowers can earn up to their area's median income or if they earn more than the area median income – can buy or refinance a home in an underserved market area. All borrowers must complete a pre-purchase borrower education program. A 2001 Freddie Mac study found that pre- and post-purchase counseling programs significantly reduce mortgage delinquencies and help more borrowers succeed as long-term homeowners.

In addition, Home Possible borrowers financing a 2-4-unit property may have reserves reduced to two months of mortgage payment; no reserves are required for financing a one-unit property. However, Home Possible Neighborhood Solutions' borrowers must have one-month of reserves, either from their own cash or a gift. Originators can sell Home Possible Mortgages to Freddie Mac through Cash, Guarantor, or MultiLender executions with servicing retained. Lenders can conduct transfers of servicing with Freddie Mac Tier I or Tier II servicers.

Monday

 

Twin Cities begin 2005 with strong real estate sales

Home sales in the 13-county Twin Cities, Minn., metro area gained 15.2 percent in January from their year-ago level, resulting in the strongest start in five years, according to figures compiled from the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota Inc.

Closed sales totaled 2,885 in January, up from 2,504 recorded in January 2004.

The median sales price for a home in the metro area rose 9.8 percent in January to $219,584 from the January 2004 median price of $200,000.

The biggest gains in median sales price for January 2004 versus January 2005 occurred outside the urban core. The leading counties were Chisago (+26.3 percent), Anoka (12.2 percent), Washington (13.3 percent) and St. Croix County in Wisconsin (10.5 percent).

New listings dropped a modest 3.81 percent for the month of January 2005 compared to January 2004.

Chisago County was the only area experiencing an increase in new listings above the 2 percent mark for the 13-county metro during January, growing by 30.3 percent over the same period in 2004.

Thursday

 

Real estate's tiny housing bubbles

A study of the top 99 U.S. real estate markets announced today by the economics department of National City Corp. finds tiny housing bubbles – or "bubblettes" – in one-fifth of the U.S. housing stock. These bubblette areas are characterized by home-price overvaluation of 20 percent or more.

The National City Corp. study attempts to answer the question: What should home prices be in each of the 99 largest metro areas after controlling for differences in population density, relative income levels, interest rates and historically observed premiums or discounts in those markets? The study compared these calculated norms to actual current prices.

If actual home prices are much higher than historic prices when factoring in economic data, the survey considers those markets to be bubblettes.

"What we find is a broad dispersion of property market valuations, ranging from a seemingly tenuous overvaluation of 43 percent in Chico, Calif., to an alluring undervaluation of 23 percent in Salt Lake City, Utah," according to a report on the survey results.

"The housing market has shouldered much of the economic recovery," said Richard DeKaser, chief economist of National City Corp. and author of the study. "Many are concerned that housing represents an overvalued sector of the economy that will be corrected with future price declines. This study shows that some cities currently may be in the midst of a housing 'bubblette' and there is greater risk in these areas for corrections."

A number of California cities top the list in overvaluation, including Stockton, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Modesto and San Diego. These cities range from 34 percent overvaluation to 28 percent overvaluation.

Other key markets such as New York and Chicago came in below the 20 percent mark, at 16 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

DeKaser's study reveals that overvaluation is not pervasive and that many areas are undervalued, such as Memphis, Tenn., and Macon, Ga.

"While overvaluation in home prices presents a risk of future declines," DeKaser notes, "these risks may well go unfulfilled. The true test of today's premiums in these markets will be the economic environment, especially incomes and interest rates, in the years ahead."

The February edition of DeKaser's Financial Market Outlook is available online at www.nationalcity.com/economics

The survey identified several areas with overvaluation in excess of 20 percent: Chico, Calif., 43 percent; Stockton, Calif., 34 percent; Santa Barbara, Calif., 34 percent; Los Angeles, Calif., 32 percent; San Francisco, Calif., 30 percent; Modesto, Calif., 30 percent; San Diego, Calif., 28 percent; W. Palm, Fla., 26 percent; Sacramento, Calif., 25 percent; Las Vegas, Nev., 24 percent; Portland, Ore., 24 percent; Miami, Fla., 23 percent; Sarasota, Fla., 22 percent; Detroit, Mich., 22 percent; Saginaw, Mich., 21 percent; and Bellingham, Wash., 21 percent.

And several cities had negative valuation of -10 percent or lower: Des Moines, Iowa, -10 percent; Tulsa, Okla., -10 percent; Harrisburg, Pa., -10 percent; Lincoln, Neb., -11 percent; Houston, Texas, -11 percent; Dallas, Texas, -11 percent; Wichita, Kan., -11 percent; Buffalo, N.Y., -11 percent; Topeka, Kan., -13 percent; Birmingham, Ala., -13 percent; Rochester, N.Y., -13 percent; Oklahoma City, Okla., -13 percent; Baton Rouge, La., -14 percent; New Orleans, La., -14 percent; Albuquerque, N.M., -14 percent; Syracuse, N.Y., -16 percent; Beaumont, Texas, -16 percent; Little Rock, Ark., -16 percent; Macon, Ga., -17 percent; Memphis, Tenn., -20 percent; and Salt Lake, Utah, -23 percent.

National City Corp., headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a financial holding companies. The company operates through a banking network primarily in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania, and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its core businesses include commercial and retail banking, mortgage financing and servicing, consumer finance and asset management.

Tuesday

 

The Ultimate Short-Sale Technique

By Scott Rister

To be successful in real estate I always preach to the masses that you have to be significantly better and significantly different than the next person. That "next person" is called your competition.

I don't want to send out hints of paranoid thoughts that you shouldn't network with other investors. In fact nothing could be farther from the truth. However, other investors including myself still guard some of their secrets on finding truly great deals in order to consistently profit in creative real estate in their local market.

Let me give you an example of exactly what I'm talking about. I travel and speak at various real estate clubs and organizations of which one promoter of a very large club in fact didn't want me to speak about one particular subject.

The one particular subject is "Probate Real Estate Investing" that is simply the most overlooked and misunderstood areas for creative real estate. I was very puzzled by that comment from the promoter which was said half jokingly and half seriously.

When I inquired why he wouldn't recommend speaking on such a key secret that only very few successful real estate investors know about, well his response was quite understandable, "Scott, that is the bread and butter of my personal real estate business here and I don't want to create any competition for myself."

In one way I can sympathize almost with the real estate investor, but on the flipside I'm committed for EVERYONE that wants to be successful in creative real estate must know about PROBATE!!

Let me get specific though with one no-brainer technique that if you key into Probate will make it VERY profitable for you. This has to "Short Sales" within the Probate process!

First off you must know that Probate exists for the benefit of creditors and NOT for the heirs. When someone passes away with a $5,000 Visa bill, the creditor has a right to claim their balance due through each state's regular Probate process.

One of the creditors involved that makes this work for the real estate investor is obviously the mortgage company/lender. So, let me ask you how the lender feels sometimes about the status of their loan when someone passes away and there isn't much money in the estate to keep the mortgage current. Let me answer that question for you and state they can be VERY, VERY motivated.

So now we've got a creditor who has a non-performing loan and because of many reasons they are willing to "wheel and deal". That is where the arena of short-sales comes into play that when you're "luckily" (right!), at the right place at the right time can mean a deal with chunks of equity to be had. These are the types of deals that put you into true financial security.

Now, unless you're totally new into real estate or have been hiding under a rock then you already know that negotiating short-sales is an absolutely must have technique. This simply is getting the bank to accept a significantly lower loan payoff than is currently on the books.

Sometimes there are many steps that need to be followed in order to effectively negotiate a short-sale of an existing mortgage. One of those key steps in negotiating a short-sale with a lender is the amount of information about the seller that needs to be produced.

Most of the time you'll be needing to gather the following information from the seller:

(1) Current employment pay stubs
(2) Financial statement of assets
(3) Written proof of financial hardship
(4) Hardship letter of seller explaining personal situation
(5) Any additional bills or such verying financial hardship
(6) Etc, Etc.....

Have you put this together yet? If not then let me spell this out for you. Everything I've listed above and more required by the lender is basically not needed when it comes to the seller having been deceased!

In the short-sale process you're seeking to really make the seller in the most unfavorable financial light as possible. The reason being is so that the bank will be first of all motivated to begin with and now when you couple that with the seller having passed away means they are much more attentive to your real estate investor special offer.

You will be able to find properties in the Probate process that there simply isn't any or enough money in the estate to keep the mortgage current. In other words, its going straight to foreclosure and in a hurry.

The Probate short-sale recipe for success then boils down to this: property heading to foreclosure and mortgage that is currently in default or soon heading to. All the cards are out on the table so to speak when presenting your offer in this light. Its now the lender's turn to accept or counter and helps put you in a much stronger negotiating position.

Of course there is a clear/conveyable title issue that has to be worked out, but this is a small hurdle to overcome within the Probate process. In fact its really the type of "problems" you'll be glad to work through for that deal that has a huge chunk of equity in it.

Now, it will be up to you deciding if you should wholesale it for some quick cash or buy/hold for long-term equity appreciation. As you can see those truly are the types of difficult choices in your real estate business you need to be making.

By Scott Rister

Scott Rister is a successful full-time investor living in Dallas, TX. Closing 72 deals in one 9 month period, Scott's property acquisition company, One-Stop Realty, LLC maintains current holdings in four states.

After building a sizable portfolio of keeper properties that was not getting him where he wanted to go, he discovered the art of wholesaling. Since that time he's done hundreds of deals and focuses exclusively on motivated sellers using technology and a targeted marketing approach.

His approach is based on the belief that the successful real estate investor will leverage the best use of his/her time by implementing systems that can run on auto-pilot with minimal maintenance.

He shows people how to invest in their personal financial future with his extremely powerful suite of training systems, one of the very comprehensive system that is worth special mention is, "The Probate Profit Machine!". An outstanding Real Estate Opportunity that helps make people the envy of their competition.


Monday

 

NAR Launches Public Awareness Campaign

The National Association of Realtors Public Awareness Campaign kicks off its eighth year this month with new television and radio ads featuring real people talking about their real estate experiences and touting the benefits of working with a Realtor. New this year, the ads encourage consumers to contact a Realtor® first when it comes time to buy or sell a home or lease a commercial space.

The spots, which will debut on broadcast and cable networks the week of February 7, remind folks that not all agents are Realtors and urge consumers to look for the Realtor "R" on their agent's business card. The ads also help differentiate Realtors from others in the real estate business by concluding with the tag line, "Ask if your agent is a Realtor, a member of the National Association of Realtors. "

The 2005 campaign will feature four new television commercials and four new radio spots as well as new customizable print ads, posters and Web banners for state and local associations to use. The television and radio commercials will run from February 7 through the end of October as part of the $25 million advertising campaign. This year's campaign also will include NAR's first-ever Spanish-language television ad. The new spot, which closely resembles the English-language version, uses real Hispanic Americans sharing their hopes, dreams and stories about trying to achieve the American dream of homeownership. The new Hispanic television and radio ads will begin airing on Spanish-language networks in mid-March.

"NAR's Public Awareness Campaign helps millions of potential home buyers, home sellers and commercial business owners understand the value of working with a Realtor" said NAR President. "This year's campaign promises to build on the success of our previous efforts by branding Realtors® as the first point of contact and encouraging consumers to look for the Realtor 'R' on their agent's business card."

The network television and radio advertisements have changed the way consumers think about buying and selling real estate. A 2004 tracking study found that approximately three out of four consumers, about 71 percent, are aware of the NAR's advertising campaign. The survey also found that more consumers than ever are likely to select a Realtor to help them buy or sell a home. Consumers' preference for working with a Realtor has increased from 58 percent in 2000 to 72 percent in 2004.

Thursday

 

California's million dollar homes sell fast

More homes priced at over a million dollars were sold last year in California than in the two previous years combined, according to real estate analyst.

California's real estate market has benefited from double-digit annual appreciation rates in recent years, and that has helped push many homes above the million-dollar mark.

However home prices are not expected to go up as much this year as in 2004. It is anticipated that sales counts will level off. Million-dollar sales accounted for 5 percent of all home purchases in the state last year. In was 3 percent in 2003 and 2.3 percent in 2002.

Of the million-dollar homes sold last year, more than 29,000 went for between $1 million and $2 million. The rest sold for more; 221 sold for more than $5 million. The median-sized million-dollar home in California last year was 2,644 square feet, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

 

New York real estate sets new annual record

Sales of existing single-family homes in New York surpassed 103,000 to set a new annual record in 2004, according to preliminary single-family sales data accumulated by the New York State Association of Realtors. The preliminary data showed a median selling price increase of nearly 17 percent in 2004 compared to the previous year.

The 2004 statewide annual sales total of 103,526 represents an 8.4 percent increase from the 2003 market total of 95,534 and marks the first time the sales total has surpassed the 100,000-mark since NYSAR began tracking data in the 1980s. The previous record was set in 2002, when 97,522 existing single-family homes were sold. The 2004 statewide median selling price of $232,000 represents a 16.9 percent increase from the 2003 statewide median of $198,500. The 2004 statewide median also represents the first time the annual median has surpassed the $200,000-mark since NYSAR began tracking data.

Sales gains were reported in 40 counties in 2004 compared to 2003 with the greatest increases being report in Montgomery (72.4 percent) and Lewis (56.1 percent) counties. Thirty-six counties reported sales gains compared to 2002. Forty-eight counties reported gains in median selling price in 2004 compared to 2003, with the greatest percentage increases being post in Lewis (32.8 percent) and Columbia (30.3 percent) counties.

The market finished strong in December 2004 with the monthly sales total reaching 8,820, a 1.9 percent increase compared with the December 2003 sales total of 8,652. The statewide median selling price rose 29.4 percent in December 2004 to $278,000 compared with the $214,900 median recorded in December 2003.

"Once again the New York housing market is a shining beacon in the state’s economic picture as evidenced by the record-setting market in 2004," said NYSAR chief executive officer. "The continuance of favorable mortgage rates helped to mitigate the increases in sales prices, keeping many buyers in the market. However, as we look forward to 2005, government and the private sector must work together to ensure that the 'American Dream' of home ownership remains within the grasp of all New Yorkers. Ensuring that there is affordable housing in the state and that ever-rising property taxes do not turn the dream into a nightmare for the state’s homeowners must be a priority.”

Tuesday

 

North Carolina real estate scores big!

For the fourth year in a row, sales of existing homes in North Carolina broke records in 2004, posting a 21 percent increase from sales recorded in 2003, according to statistics compiled by the North Carolina Association of Realtors.

Realtors reported that 112,188 residential units were sold in 2004 on an adjusted basis, up from 92,523 sales in 2003.

The average cost of a home was $193,817 in 2004, up 5 percent from $184,606 for 2003. When combined with this increase in the average sales price, total sales dollars for 2004 were up 27 percent to nearly $22 billion.

Resort communities led the strong sales growth, with Brunswick County posting the largest percentage increase in total sales dollars (47 percent), which can largely be attributed to the 21 percent increase in average sales price they've experienced over the last year. Other communities with strong growth include the Outer Banks, Wilmington and Jacksonville.


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