Metro Detroit sees July housing surge

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DETROIT, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A real estate research firm in Michigan said home sales rose in July 9.6 percent in the four-country Metro Detroit area in July, and prices rose, too.

For Metro Detroit, rices rose 8.8 percent in July to $78,000 compared to the same month of 2010, researchers at RealComp II Ltd said.

In Macomb county, sales rose 22.1 percent. They also rose sharply in Livingston and Oakland counties, although sales dropped 1.7 percent in Wayne County, The Detroit News reported Monday.

The median sales price in July rose 7.4 percent in Oakland County to $120,000. Although sales improved most in Macomb County, the median price there dropped 2.6 percent to $75,000.

Buyers have been encouraged by low interest rates with 15-year fixed rate mortgage rates at 3.5 percent and 30-year fixed-rate contracts at 4.32 percent, both lows for the year, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said.