In first quarter 2006, [tag]Florida’s housing sector[/tag] followed the national trend, demonstrating signs of a market adjusting to [tag]rising mortgage rates[/tag], higher inventory levels and a better balance between buyers and sellers. Statewide sales of [tag]single-family existing homes[/tag] totaled 45,864 during the three-month period, a decrease of 20 percent compared to 57,532 homes sold during the same quarter a year ago, according to the [tag]Florida Association of Realtors[/tag]® (FAR).

Conventional [tag]mortgage rates[/tag] closed the 2006 initial quarter at 6.35 percent and are trending up. The statewide existing-home median sales price rose 20 percent to reach $248,000 in the first quarter; a year ago, it was $206,700. In 2001, the first-quarter statewide median sales price was $119,500, which is an increase of about 107.5 percent over the five-year period.