Existing Home Sales "Pop", Prices Jump 11%:
U.S. home resales rose in October and a gauge of homebuilder sentiment climbed to a six-year high in November, a sign the housing sector is continuing to gain traction.
The National Association of
Realtors said on Monday that existing home sales climbed 2.1 percent last month
to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million units, beating forecasts
by Wall Street economists.
The data suggests America's
recovery from the 2007-09 recession is becoming increasingly self-sustaining,
with job creation helping drive home sales, which in turn are supporting
economic growth.
In October, the median price
for a home resale was $178,600, up 11.1 percent from a year earlier as fewer
people sold their homes under distressed conditions compared to the same period
in 2011. Distressed sales include foreclosures.
The nation's inventory of
existing homes for sale fell 1.4 percent during the month to 2.14 million, the
lowest level since December 2002. At the current pace of sales, inventories
would be exhausted in 5.4 months, the lowest rate since February 2006.
In a separate report,
U.S. housing starts rose to their highest rate in more than four years in
October, the Commerce Department said housing starts increased 3.6
percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000 units -- the highest
since July 2008.
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