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NAR FORECASTS ECONOMY STRONGER, HOME SALES SOFTER IN 2004
| A growing economy will help to sustain strong home sales in 2004, but housing activity isn't likely to match last year's record, according to NAR. Final figures for existing-home sales will total almost 6.07 million in 2003, up 9.1 percent from the previous record of 5.57 million in 2002, according to NAR. "Existing-home sales should come in at about 5.85 million in 2004, still the second-best on record," he said. "We'll see a similar pattern this year for new homes with 1.01 million sales, off from a record of about 1.08 million for 2003," said NAR Chief Economist David Lereah. NAR forecasts housing starts to total 1.84 million units for 2003, the best performance since 1978, with 1.71 million units projected for 2004. The national median existing-home price for all of 2003 rose about 8.0 percent to $170,800, while the median new-home price is expected to be up 3.7 percent to $194,500. The median existing-home price is forecast to grow by 4.6 percent in 2004, while new homes should increase by 5.1 percent, according to the report. |