Hopes rise for US housing market

June 27 2008 - Are there flickers of light in the stricken US housing market? Over the past several weeks, some data focused on home sales and house prices in the US have been encouraging to economists and policymakers, raising hopes that the first stage of a recovery may have begun.

The latest positive sign came yesterday, when a measure of existing home sales produced by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed a 2 per cent rise in May to an annual rate of 4.99m units – more than many economists were expecting.

Further increases in the pace of existing home sales are being forecast for the coming months, after an NAR report earlier this month on pending home sales – which reflect contracts that have been agreed but not completed – showed an unexpected 6.3 per cent increase.

Hopes rise for US housing market
by James Politi | Financial Times