MO home sales increase 18.5% in January

Missouri home sales during January increased by 18.5 percent compared to the same month of the prior year, according to a monthly home sales report from the Missouri Association of Realtors.

Real estate agents sold 3,165 homes in January, compared to 2,670 in January 2011, according to a news release.

Though January numbers were about 1,000 homes shy of the December 2011 figure, the decline was expected, as January is generally a slower home purchase month. The association cited the mild winter and low interest rates as contributors to the year-over-year increase for the month.

The average selling price for homes in the state was $132,634 in January, roughly flat from the same month last year.

Missouri Association of Realtors officials said in the release that home prices in Missouri favor buyers, and mortgage interested rates remain at an all-time low.

The national average for a 30-year conventional fixed mortgage dropped to a record low of 4.11 percent in September, and it has fallen further in 2012 to 3.92 percent, according to Freddie Mac.[[In-content Ad]]