Home-Sales Drop Continues

WASHINGTON Sales of previously owned homes dropped 2.9 percent inMarch, the third straight month of declines caused by severe weather,a real estate trade group said today.

Sales fell in every region except the Midwest.

"Sellers and buyers lost a week in March," said William S. Chee,president of the National Association of Realtors. But he added thatsales appear to have picked up from where they left off.

The Realtors said sales of previously owned homes totaled 3.36million at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, down from 3.46million a month earlier.

The revised 8.5 percent drop in sales in February was evensteeper than the 6.1 percent initial estimate. Sales had fallen 6.4percent in January after rising 4.7 percent in the final month of1992.

Chee said the Blizzard of '93 brought housing activity to avirtual standstill for several days in March in the South andNortheast. But he said anecdotal evidence suggests sales haveresumed.

"Buyers are continuing to take advantage of low mortgage rates,"he said. "Both entry-level and trade-up segments of the market arebusy."

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the nationalaverage commitment rate for 30-year, conventional fixed-ratemortgages was 7.5 percent in March, down from 7.68 percent theprevious month and 8.94 percent in March, 1992.

The Realtors predict that rates will remain about 7.5 percentthis year and that existing home sales will total 3.66 million units,up 3.9 percent from 3.52 million in 1992.

The median price of a home in the United States in March was$106,000, 2.3 percent higher than in February and 1.6 percent abovethat of March 1992. The median means that half of the homes costmore and half cost less.

The Northeast, which bore the brunt of the winter storm, posteda 9.1 percent decline in existing home sales, to a 500,000 rate. Themedian price there was $140,800.

Sales fell 3.1 percent, to a 1.25 million rate, in the South,where the median price was $92,200.

Sales were off 5.5 percent in the West, to a 700,000 rate.Median price was $144,100. The Realtors attributed the decline toweak economic conditions in California.

The Midwest posted the only increase, a 3.4 percent hike to a920,000 rate. The median price was $85,200.