The nation is cruising into the holidays with homes sales staying at a pretty comfortable pace - not selling in minutes like they were last year, but not staying on the market too long, either. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing single-family dropped slightly in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.96 million units. That's down a little from September's level of 5.16 million annual sales, but above year-ago levels of 4.88 million. The NAR is forecasting existing homes sales for the year 2000 will top out around 5.04 million - making it the second best year in history.

Reading The Numbers

The real estate industry is one of the most statistically tracked industries in the country, with everything counted from homes sales, apartment rentals, housing starts and even the number of people employed in some way in housing.

Realtor economist Dr. David Lerearh warns, however, its easy to misread the numbers. Lerearh points out, for instance, that comparing median home price reports from month-to-month might suggest prices are dropping.

"Every year since record keeping began in 1968, the median home price has dropped in the fall because fewer families with children are in the market," he explains. "As a result, a higher percentage of buyers are singles and childless couples, generally purchasing more moderately priced homes, so we see a seasonal dip in prices. This has nothing to do with appreciation."

The national median existing-home price was $138,200 in October, up 4.3 percent from October 1999 when the median price was $132,500.

Rates Expected To Be Neutral, Or Lower

The national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 7.8 percent in October, slightly lower than the 7.91 rate reported the previous month and on a par with the 7.85 percent rate charged in October 1999.

Earlier this year many analysts predicted the Fed would weigh in with an interest rate increase at its mid-December meeting. Most experts now believe, however, the economy has softened enough that the central bank will either leave rates alone or even drop them by a quarter percent.

What's Good for Older Americans?

An interesting debate is going on in the housing industry concerning the aging of American homeowners and how to identify good, new, senior-friendly dwellings from those that are marketed as accommodating but actually aren't very functional.

As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, marketers are expected to produce a torrent of new home plans geared to older Americans. A housing industry roundtable was recently held to discuss whether such dwellings should somehow be "certified" as good for senior adults, or whether products should simply be identified as having "good design."

Other ideas included developing standards, or creating a centralized source of information. No consensus was reached but efforts are continuing. The roundtable was hosted by the National Center for Seniors' Housing Research, whose goal is "to enable all Americans to continue to live comfortably, safely, and independently in their own homes as they age, regardless of income or ability level."

The Digital You of The Future

A Belgium company called Starlab is working to produce wired clothing that can do everything from tell you if you've forgotten your car keys to whether you're overdoing it when you exercise.

By embedding microchips throughout the fabric, connected by charged threads woven into the cloth, sensors could tell if your keys aren't in your pocket or whether you've forgotten your wallet.

In workout suits, fabrics could monitor heart rates, temperature, breathing and transmit results to a control center.