Homes sales (from USAToday)Existing home prices bounced back last month and drew close to an eight-year high as moderating price increases coaxed prospective buyers to close deals, the
National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
Sales increased 4.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.55 million, solidly above the 5.39 million pace expected by economists. August sales were revised down marginally to annual pace of 5.3 million. Sales reached an eight-year high of 5.58 million in July before sliding back in August.
The median home price was $221,900 in September, up 6.1% from a year ago.
""While current price growth… Is still roughly double the pace of wages, affordability has slightly improved since the spring and is helping to keep demand at a strong and sustained pace," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the realtors group.
At the same time, tight supplies have pushed up prices, prodding buyers to put their homes on the market. The inventory of unsold homes fell to a 4.8- month supply from 5.1 months in August. A six-month supply is generally considered balanced. The limited housing stock and rising prices discouraged buyers early in the year but moderating prices have underpinned sales recently.
Yet first-time home buyers continued to lag, falling to 29% of all sales after rising to 32% in August, the highest level of the year. Before the housing crash and recession, first-time buyers typically comprised 40% of the market.