WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose 5.5 percent last month, the biggest gain since July 2003, and the inventory of unsold homes fell, a hopeful sign for a housing market mired in a long slump.
The National Association of Realtors said on Friday that sales of existing homes rose to a 5.18 million-unit annual rate from the 4.91 million unit pace set in August. Economists had expected sales to rise to only a 4.93 million unit rate.
It was the first time the sales pace had risen above its year ago level in nearly three years, a sign the market could be stabilizing.
The surprisingly large jump in sales pushed the inventory of unsold homes down by 1.6 percent to 4.27 million, or a 9.9 months’ supply at the current pace, the lowest since February.
Home sales see biggest gain since July 2003 | Special Coverage | Reuters
Tags: homesales, United states housing market, house inventory, unsold homes, real estate market, housing market
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