Sales of previously owned US homes rose to the highest level in 18 months in March. Existing-home sales increased 6.1 per cent last month from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That was the highest level since September 2013.
At the current sales pace, it would take 4.6 months to exhaust the supply of existing homes on the market, NAR said
US New and Existing Home Sales: March 2015
Meanwhile purchases of new US homes slumped more than forecast in March from a seven-year high. Sales dropped 11.4 percent to a four-month low 481,000 annualized pace, Commerce Department figures showed Thursday in Washington.
At March’s sales pace it would take 5.3 months to clear the supply of new houses on the market, up from 4.6 months in February.
The jump in March existing sales follows two lackluster months amid bad winter weather. The February sales pace was 4.89 million and January was only 4.82 million.
The median sale price for a previously owned home was up 7.8 per cent from a year earlier to US$212,100 in March, NAR said.
The Commerce Department’s report showed new-home purchases were 17.4 per cent higher in March than the same period in 2014 on an unadjusted basis, today’s report showed. The median price of a new home decreased 1.7 per cent last month from a year ago to US$277,400.
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