Sales of previously owned homes dipped last month amid
a thin supply of homes up for sale, a slight setback for the housing
market's recovery.
Existing-home sales decreased 1.7% from a month earlier to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million, the National
Association of Realtors said Friday. Sales were still 11% above the
same month a year earlier, and it was the 15th consecutive month of
year-over-year increases in home sales.
The results matched analysts' forecasts. August's sales pace was
revised upward to 4.83 million sales per year.
Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, predicted that 2012
will end with the strongest home sales in five years. "We have broken
out of the slump," he said. "The housing market is recovering."
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The median sales price for September was $183,900, up 11.3% from
$165,300 a year earlier. That was the biggest annual gain since
November 2005.
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At the end of September, meanwhile, the inventory of previously
owned homes listed for sale fell to 2.32 million. That represented a
5.9-month supply at the current sales pace. It was the time the
inventory of homes on the market fell below six months since March
2006.
If the housing market's revival continues, it will be a welcome
boost for the economy, which posted a disappointing 1.3% growth rate
in the second quarter. Spending on home construction and home
improvements has contributed to economic growth in five straight
quarters.
Construction of new homes, meanwhile, jumped 15% last month to the
highest level since July 2008, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Compared with a year earlier, new construction was up by nearly 35%.
Still, the housing market is not fully recovered from the depths of
the housing bust. Sales and construction levels are well below
pre-bubble levels, and qualification standards for mortgage loans are
tough. Many potential buyers have too little home-equity to sell their
current residence and buy another home.
The Realtors' said home sales last month fell compared with a month
earlier in three out of four regions. They fell 6.3% in the Northeast
and 3.4% in the West and 0.9% in Midwest but rose 0.5% in the South.
