Home sales in June rise to the highest in more than 8 years.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Recently released data from the National Association of Realtors indicate U.S. home sales rose in June to their highest level in nearly eight-and-a-half years, a sign of repressed up demand that should bolster the housing market’s recovery and likely keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates later this year, reported Reuters.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that existing home sales increased 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.49 million units, the highest level since February 2007.
“Strong home resale numbers throughout the spring and into summer are welcome news to those who feared the housing market was a weak point in the overall economy,” said Bill Banfield, vice president at Quicken Loans in Detroit. “As housing numbers trend more positive, the Fed will become increasingly comfortable in beginning to raise rates.”
Homes sold in June typically were on the market for 34 days, the shortest amount of time since May 2011. In addition, the share of distressed sales, foreclosures and short sales, was the smallest since last August.
A different report from the Mortgage Bankers Association suggested home sales could increase further as applications for home purchase loans rose 1 percent last week compared to the week before.
At June’s sales pace, it would take 5.0 months to clear houses from the market, down from 5.1 months in May. A six-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand, according to Reuters.
With supply dipping well below what it was during the housing bubble of 2006, the median price for a previously owned home increased 6.5 percent from a year ago to a record $236,400.