The National Association of Realtors is reporting that sales of existing homes are holding steady, with indication of a modest gain last month.

Total existing-home sales rose .5 percent, while the median existing home price was reported as $221,000 in October, a number 3.5 percent below October of last year.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, remains positive, however, about the market, saying, "The present level of home sales demonstrates some confidence in the market, but sales are lower than sustainable due to psychological factors. The demographics of our growing population, historically low and declining mortgage interest rates, and healthy job creation mean the wherewithal is there to buy homes in most of the country, but many buyers remain on the sidelines. After a period of price adjustment, we'll see more confidence in the market and a lift to home sales should be apparent in the first quarter of 2007."

By region, the West saw a 6.4 percent rise in sales -- the only region not to see a decline. The median price, however, was down .6 percent for the year.

The largest price drop by region was seen in the South, which was down 7 percent to a median of $185,000.

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