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Area home sales fell in May compared with a year ago

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By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 23, 2009

TAMPA - Tampa Bay area home sales dropped in May compared with a year ago, the first such decrease in nearly a year.

Sales prices also showed a year-over-year decline, although May's median price was slightly better than April's.

There were 2,243 homes sold in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area in May, down 1 percent from the same period last year, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

The median sales price in the area was $141,100, up from $135,200 in April but down 20 percent from $176,100 in May 2008.

The sales drop follows months of year-over-year increases. In March, there was a 16 percent increase over March 2008. That was followed by an 11 percent increase in April compared with a year ago.

Nationally, sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from April to May, the third monthly increase this year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales rose 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 4.77 million, up from a downwardly revised rate of 4.66 million in April. The results, however, missed analysts' expectations.

About one in three homes sold last month was a foreclosure or distressed sale, dragging down the median price to $173,000 – a drop of 16.8 percent from a year ago. Falling prices coupled with new rules for property appraisers have caused many transactions to fall apart or be delayed.

Mortgage rates are another problem. Interest rates for 30-year home loans, which fell to all-time lows this spring, have been edging back up. The average rate was 5.38 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.

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