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Housing sales dip
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December 29, 1997: 10:35 a.m. ET
Low interest rates help minimize fall-off in sales of existing homes
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A combination of low interest rates and strong U.S. economic activity helped existing homes sales figures avoid bleaker expectations, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.
Sales of existing single-family homes fell 0.2 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million from a 2.1 percent gain in October.
Economists had expected a fall of 1.1 percent. The November figures were also 7.9 percent above the pace of November 1996.
The bond market fell after the news, with the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond dropping 6/32, raising the yield to 5.92 percent.
NAR President R. Layne Morrill said the results, the first drop in three months, were to be expected.
"It was a matter of time before we saw some downward trend," he said. "Given the cyclical nature of the market, we expect a continued slowdown in the coming months, though nothing dramatic."
The NAR said low interest rates, which fell to 7.21 percent for the average 30-year fixed-rate in November from 7.29 percent the previous month, helped steady the losses.
The national median price -- meaning that half the homes sell for more, half for less -- of a single family home was $124,400 last month, up 6 percent from November 1996.
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