Condo sales, prices jump

U.S. sales of condominiums rose to a record in the second quarter of 2004, coming close to 1 million units for the first time. Sales of condos and cooperatively owned apartments climbed 6.6% from the previous quarter to 996,000 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, the National Assn. of Realtors said Wednesday.

Prices increased 12.1% from a year earlier, beating the 9.1% gain for single-family homes, said the trade group’s economist Lawrence Yun. Condominiums got a bigger boost from March’s nine-month low in mortgage rates because in most U.S. markets the units are cheaper than homes, he said. Borrowers who secured their loans in March would have purchased their properties in April and May, bolstering second-quarter figures.

The median price for condominiums and co-ops grew to $189,400. About 97% of the properties in the association’s report were condominiums and about 3% were co-ops.