The red-hot market for new housing across the country is manifesting itself in Lawrence – just not in sales for new single-family homes.

Buyers increasingly are turning to townhomes for ownership opportunities, said Mike McGrew, vice chairman for Coldwell Banker McGrew Real Estate in Lawrence.

Twenty-seven townhomes went under contract last month in Lawrence, he said, referring to data gleaned from the Multiple Listing Service. That was up from 15 a month earlier and from 19 in June 2004.

Sales of new single-family homes, meanwhile, continued to slump. A total of 22 such homes went under contract in June, down from 26 a month earlier and from 25 in June 2004.

While prices for new single-family homes are climbing, McGrew said, moderate prices for townhomes continue to absorb demand for affordable housing in town. The median sale price for a new home last month was $270,000, up from $206,000 a month earlier and $242,900 in June 2004.

An employee of KBI Construction works Wednesday on a new frame in Las Vegas. Sales of new homes soared to an all-time high in June. The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes jumped to a record annual pace of 1.37 million units in June. However, sales of homes - new and existing - declined in Lawrence.

For townhomes, June’s median price of $143,500 continued to be manageable for the market, McGrew said. The median price essentially split the difference between May’s median of $149,900, and the June 2004 median of $138,900.

“People are just gravitating to the less-expensive stuff,” McGrew said. “If you want to afford something, it’s a lot more affordable to get half of a (residential) lot than it is to get a whole lot.”

The Lawrence numbers are at odds with a new report Wednesday from the Commerce Department, which showed that sales of new single-family homes reached a record high. The national sales volume reached an annual pace of 1.374 million, up 4 percent from May, as median prices dropped to $214,800 from $227,400.

Sales in the Midwest were especially brisk, the department said. Sales were up 24.2 percent in the region, compared with June 2004.

Soaring sales nationwide come as mortgage interest rates continue to keep buyers in the market. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.6 percent in June, the lowest in 15 months, according to Freddie Mac, the second-biggest purchaser of U.S. mortgages.

Mortgage rates have risen during the past three weeks to 5.73 percent, and the National Association of Realtors expects rates on 30-year mortgages to reach 5.9 percent by years’ end.

The Lawrence area’s overall sales market for single-family homes continued to show weakness in June, according to a new report from the Douglas County Appraiser’s Office.

There were 294 sales of single-family homes that closed during the month, down 7.25 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

Lawrence had 239 sales, down 5.9 percent from a year earlier. June 2004 was the last time that Lawrence showed a monthly increase in sales from a year earlier.

June sales totals for other communities tracked by the appraiser’s office, compared with a year earlier:

¢ North Lawrence (which the office tracks as a separate market): seven sales, the same as a year earlier.

¢ Baldwin: 13 sales, down from 17.

¢ Eudora: 20 sales, down from 28.

¢ Rural Douglas County: 14 sales, up from 11.

¢ Lecompton: one sale, up from zero.