US existing home sales grow at fastest rate since before the financial crisis in 2007
Home resales in the US rose at their highest level for eight and a half years in June, giving a sign that demand is up, indicating a housing market recovery, which should help the economy.
Sales increased 3.2 per cent to an annual rate of 5.49m houses from a downwardly revised 5.32m in May, the highest level since February 2007, the National Association of Realtors said. Sales were up 9.6 per cent from a year ago.
NAR president Chris Polychron said:
The demand for buying has really heated up this summer, leading to multiple bidders and homes selling at or above asking price
Furthermore, tight inventory conditions are being exacerbated by the fact that some homeowners are hesitant to sell because they're not optimistic they'll have adequate time to find an affordable property to move into."
Existing home sales account for the largest chunk of the market, and have picked up pace since a sluggish winter.
The cumulative effect of rising demand and limited supply helped push the national median sales price to an all-time high, the report said.
Read more: US unemployment falls to 5.3 per cent as the economy comes closer to full employment
This string of strong housing reports show the economy on a firmer footing despite a drop in retail sales and a slowdown in job growth last month.