Chattanooga area existing home sales jumped off to a healthy start for 2003 totaling near records at 353 for January and 397 for February The two-month total of 750 was a new record for the first two months of the year, exceeding last year’s 710 and the previous record 717 in 2000.

Even with the onset of war, conditions for a historically strong housing market are expected to prevail during 2003, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

February sales here through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors (CAR) were the second highest for the month, just short of the 367 recorded in 2000 while February sales were only three shy of the record 400 of 2002.

The median price of homes sold in February, half selling for more and half for less, was $107,500, a rise of $500 over the median for January. Well over half the homes sold in February sold within 90 days after going on the market. A total of 104 homes sold last month were on the market more than 121 days or four months.

Nationally, the median existing-home price in January was $160,400, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier when the median was $150,300. The median price in the South in January was $148,500 which was 4.5 percent higher than the same month last year.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said a primary concern would be the length of any war. “If the Iraqi regime is toppled in short order, there likely will be modest disruption to the U.S. economy and housing markets and confidence would be restored,” he said.

“However, a prolonged conflict or an unexpected turn of events could be very costly. The result would be growing federal budget deficits that would cause interest rates to rise and put the brakes on both housing and the economy, not to mention consumer confidence.”

Based on the current direction of the economy, he said he expects the 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate to rise gradually from an average of 5.9 percent in the first quarter to 6.5 percent by the end of the year.

NAR forecasts 5.50 million existing-home sales in 2003, down slightly from a record 5.57 million sales in 2002.

New-home sales should total 946,000 units this year, down modestly from a record 976,000 sales in 2002. Housing starts are forecast at 1.71 million units this year, the same as last year.

In the Chattanooga area including North Georgia, well over half the homes sold last month, a total of 225, were three bedroom homes and five single-family homes sold for over a half million dollars each. A total of 25 units, including a multi-family unit and three condominium or co-op units, sold for over $300,000.