StockMarketWire.com - US existing-home sales rose by 4.3% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said strong gains in contract activity in recent months showed buyers were responding to very favourable market conditions.
Yun added: “The uptrend in home sales is in line with all of the underlying fundamentals – pent-up household formation, record-low mortgage interest rates, bargain home prices, sustained job creation and rising rents.”
Total housing inventory at the end of January fell 0.4% to 2.31 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.1-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 6.4-month supply in December.
Yun said: “The broad inventory condition can be described as moving into a rough balance, not favoring buyers or sellers.
“Foreclosure sales are moving swiftly with ready home buyers and investors competing in nearly all markets. A government proposal to turn bank-owned properties into rentals on a large scale does not appear to be needed at this time.”
Total unsold listed inventory has trended down from a record 4.04 million in July 2007, and is 20.6% below a year ago.
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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