SPRINGFIELD (May 8, 2003) In spite of concerns about the economy, wartime angst and a very cold winter, sales of existing single-family homes were robust during the first quarter of 2003 according to the Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (CAAR).

Existing-home sales during the first quarter of 2003 exhibited the strongest first quarter sales pace on record with 673 units sold. This represents a modest increase of 0.9 percent over the 667 units sold during the first quarter of 2002 which was also a record setter.

Home sale prices registered a sizeable gain during the first quarter 2003 with a median home sale price of $91,000 which reflects a 7.7 percent increase from the $84,500 price during the same period last year. Total home sales volume for the first quarter of 2003 reached $71.4 million which reflects a 4.7 percent increase over the previous year.

CAAR President Barbara Krueger said that these home sale figures are doubly impressive given the fact that in the early part of the year we experienced a disruption in normal buying patterns, resulting from a particularly harsh winter. "With many January and February sales postponed until March, sales activity was exceptionally strong yielding a double digit increase over March of 2002", said Krueger.

"The housing market continues to enjoy the support of historically low mortgage interest rates." "In spite of the global unrest conditions for a historically strong housing market are expected to prevail during 2003," said Krueger. "Another factor favoring housing in the current environment is the volatility of the stock market. In addition to a strong fundamental demand for housing, economic uncertainty is favoring more stable investments such as homeownership," according to Krueger.

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was a record low 5.8 percent during the first quarter of 2003, down substantially from the 7.0 percent rate at this time in 2002.

The Capital area median existing single-family home sale price for the first quarter of 2003 was $91,000, a 7.7 percent increase over the previous year's first quarter median price of $84,500. The median is the midpoint in the price range; half the homes sold cost more, half cost less.

First quarter 2003 sales of all property classes combined (i.e., commercial, industrial, farm, residential, vacant land) reveal sales of 751 during the first quarter of 2003, down 3.2 percent from the 776 sales reported during the same period of 2002. Total dollar volume of all real estate sold increased 2.2 percent with $78.4 million sold during the first quarter of 2003 as compared to $76.7 million during the same period last year.

The Capital Area Association of REALTORS® is the Voice for Real Estate in the Capital Area representing more than 700 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry. The Capital Area’s Resource for Real Estate Information can be found at www.seehouses.com.