North Carolina Association of Realtors: Good sign for home sales in March

Triangle Business Journal - by Amanda Jones Hoyle

Home sales in the Triangle during March showed the first real signs of a real-estate recovery in nine months, with a 60 percent increase in units sold compared to the previous month.

Year-over-year home sales in the Triangle were still down by 31 percent in March with 1,530 new and existing homes sold compared to 2,217 units sold in March 2008. But the rate of decline has slowed, according to statistics compiled by the North Carolina Association of Realtors.

Statewide, existing home sales improved in March, with a 30 percent increase in units sold compared to the previous month. Year-over-year homes sales in North Carolina in March were down by 29 percent, to 14,752 homes sold.

Total dollar sales for the month in the Triangle came to $349 million, which was down by 33 percent from the year prior. The average home sold for $228,297, which was down by 3 percent from the year prior.

Statewide, total dollar sales for the month were $1.18 billion, down by 34 percent from the year prior.