Purchases climbed 7.2%, to a 5.24 million annual rate, the most since August 2007, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday. The gain was the biggest since records began being kept in 1999.
Existing-home sales were forecast to rise to a 5 million annual rate, according to the median of 64 economists' estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Sales reached a 4.49 million annual pace in January, their lowest recorded level.
Purchases of existing homes grew 5% compared to a year earlier. The median price dropped 15% during the period, to $178,400.
The number of previously owned, unsold homes on the market jumped 7.3%, to 4.09 million in July, a "notable" increase, according to Lawrence Yun, the Realtors group's chief economist. At the current sales pace, it would take 9.4 months to sell those houses, the same as in June. A seven months' supply is usually consistent with stabilization in prices, Yun said last month.
source: American Banker
No comments:
Post a Comment