Home sales rise nationwide, prices fall

Home sales rose 3.8 percent nationwide between the first and second quarters, the National Association of Realtors said today. Home sales hit a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.76 million, about 3 percent lower than they were a year ago. Foreclosures and distressed sales made up more than a third of total sales. Quarterly sales rose more than 20 percent in New York and several other states. But prices fell in 129 out of 155 metropolitan areas included in the NAR numbers, with a median sales price decline of $174,100, a 16 percent drop from a year ago. Prices dropped most significantly in Fort Myers, Fla., where they fell 53 percent.

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