The South recorded 176,000 home sales in November, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday, up 48 percent from a year earlier, when the nation was dizzied by the financial market meltdown. The median sales price fell slightly more than 1 percent, to $151,400.
Nationally, existing home sales soared nearly 47 percent compared with last November, without adjusting for seasonal factors. The median sales price dropped 4 percent to $172,600.
Half of the national sales went to first-time home buyers using a tax credit of up to $8,000 that was set to expire last month. Congress extended the credit until next spring and also added a tax credit of up to $6,500 for repeat home buyers.
RelatedThanks to tax credit, home sales surge 7.4 percentThe first-time homebuyer tax credit, along with mortgage rates below 5 percent, lured more buyers than during previous holiday seasons, real estate agents said.
All 19 Southern cities covered by the Associated Press-Re/Max Monthly Housing Report showed sales increases compared with last November. Median sales prices were flat or increased in 11 Southern cities.
The AP-Re/Max report, also released Tuesday, analyzed sales transactions in the metropolitan statistical areas recorded by all real estate agents, regardless of company affiliation.
Here are some highlights:
• Orlando, Fla.: This tourist mecca experienced two extreme swings in November. Sales doubled from last November, the biggest gain among Southern cities in the AP-Re/Max report. (Jackson, Miss., had the smallest sales gain, at 15 percent.)
In Orlando, median sales price dropped by a quarter to $123,250, the steepest price decline among Southern metro areas in the AP-Re/Max report.
Homes priced $200,000 and below sold quickest in November, fueled by first-time buyers and investors, said Les Simmonds, president of L.G. Simmonds Real Estate Corp. in Orlando.
"If you have something in the low price range, your telephone will ring," Simmonds said.
Still, prices could keep sinking because of consistently heavy foreclosure inventories, which have driven down property values in Orlando, Miami and Tampa.
• Miami: This sunny metropolis saw the median sales price decline 23 percent to $152,000, but affordable prices for houses and condos helped spur a 59 percent sales increase from last November, the AP-Re/Max report showed.
Foreign investors and buyers looking for bargain foreclosures boosted sales for Ralph De Martino, owner of Ocean International Realty in Miami Beach. De Martino has presided over six deals since the start of November.
• Houston: With its steady oil- and health-care-based economy and solid employment base, Houston proved to be a strong market in November.
Sales of existing homes jumped 34 percent, while prices rose nearly 9 percent to $150,000, the largest price increase among Southern cities in the AP-Re/Max report.
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