Wall Street Journal writers Ben Leubsdorf and Jeffrey Sparshott reported last week that, “A pickup in home sales last month signaled stabilization in the U.S. housing sector despite continued pressure from tight inventory and rising prices.
“Sales of previously owned homes rose 3.2% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million in September, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
“That exceeded economists’ expectations for a more modest increase to a 5.35 million sales rate.”
The Journal writers explained that, “Existing-home sales, which account for the vast majority of U.S. homebuying activity, peaked in June at an annualized 5.57 million, the strongest monthly sales pace since February 2007. But sales softened over the next two months, and August’s revised sales pace of 5.30 million was the weakest in six months.
“September’s rebound showed the summer slowdown was a ‘moderate decline and not a turning point,’ said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.”