Bargain hunters spur US home resales

2009 January 26

January 26 2009 - The pace of existing-home sales in the US unexpectedly quickened last month as bargain hunters were lured back to the market.

Home resales increased 6.5 per cent to an annual rate of 4.74m in December, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said yesterday, but were down 3.5 percent year on year. The median price of an existing home plummeted 15.3 per cent year on year to $175,400 (€135,000, £128,000), the sharpest decline since records began in 1968.

“It appears some buyers are taking advantage of much lower home prices,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. He expected the market to continue favouring buyers for the foreseeable future.

The glut of housing inventory also shrank in December, as the number of existing homes for sale fell by 11.7 percent to 3.68 million. Government data last week showed that new residential building in the US hit a record low in 2008. Inventory levels are still considered to be high and many homes sitting in the foreclosure process comprise a “shadow inventory” that remains difficult to track.

Bargain hunters spur US home resales

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