In November, sales of new homes jumped year-over-year in the Sumter, SC market, but the increase was less than October 2011. New home sales moved from 14 a year earlier to 16 after the figure moved from 11 in October 2010 to 14 in October 2011.

A total of 230 new homes were sold during the 12 months that ended in November, up from 228 for the year that ended in October.

Sixteen of the 103 total sales were new home sales, a shift on a percentage basis from 14 out of 92 a year earlier. Sales of new and existing homes gained year-over-year in November following a decline in October year-over-year.

The average price for newly sold homes moved north to $192,223 from $142,242 a year ago. This was on the heels of a 11.2% hike in October year-over-year.

Average mortgage size on new homes moved from $159,300 to $157,818. Average mortgage size on new homes went from $85,000 in October 2010 to $108,000 in October 2011.

There was no change in the composition of the new-home market with regard to the types of properties sold in November 2011. Single-family homes continued to account for all of new home sales.

Foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) sales remained a drag on the market. Combined, foreclosures plus REO sales made up 42.5% of existing home sales. In November 2010, they represented 41.0%. The percentage of existing home sales involving foreclosures slipped to 20.7% in November from 24.4% a year earlier while REO sales as a percentage of existing home sales rose to 21.8% from 16.7%.

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