There's a mixed picture in the latest numbers on local home sales.
The figures for sales of existing homes in the second quarter were down about four percent compared to this time last year, but Steve Babbitt, president of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, says that is partly due to an issue involving the way that sales are recorded. Overall, he calls this a strong report, and he says the recent rise in mortgage rates may have spurred more people to follow through on their home buying plans.
"I think it's just sort of an awakening to reality that interest rates will probably go up, and I think what it does then, is get them off the fence.”
Babbitt also notes that home prices have been going up somewhat, with the median sales price rising four percent over the same period last year.
The Rochester Home Builders Association also released numbers that show sales of new homes rose eleven percent in this area for the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year.
