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Condominium and co-operative sales for the quarter stomped all over previous records, according to an industry organization.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported this week that the seasonally-adjusted annual condo/co-op sale rate came in at 861,000. This record-setting sale rate for second quarter 2003 beat the previous quarter, which is now ranked the third best, by four percent, the group said. Fourth quarter 2002 is the second-best-selling quarter, with 829,000 sold.
NAR's chief economist, David Lereah, believes 2003 will be a record year.
"In fact, this will be the eighth consecutive year in which condo and co-op sales set a record, with low interest rates stimulating all sectors of the market. Even with mortgage interest rates rising over the last few weeks, they remain very attractive and coincide with a strong underlying demand for housing," he said in the statement.
The cost of a condo is very close to the price for a house, according to the NAR.
An existing condo had a median cost of $163,500 during the quarter; existing houses had a median cost of $168,900, it said.
The median condo price is 15.1 percent higher than this time last year, the statement said, while housing prices rose about half that much, 7.4 percent.
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