Bloomberg writer Maeve Sheehey reported today that, “U.S. sales of previously owned homes surged by the most on record in July as lower mortgage rates continued to power a residential real estate market that’s proving a key source of strength for the economic recovery.
“Closing transactions increased 24.7% from the prior month to a 5.86 million annualized rate, the strongest pace since the end of 2006 and reflecting broad gains across the U.S., according to National Association of Realtors data issued Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 5.41 million rate. Prices jumped 8.5% from a year earlier, on an unadjusted basis, to the highest on record.
“‘Housing demand is absolutely on fire,’ Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC, said in a note. ‘There are plenty of areas of the economy to worry about, but housing is most assuredly not one of them.'”
Today’s article added that, “Properties remained on the market for an average of 22 days, the shortest timespan on record, the NAR said. The median home price increased to an all-time high of $304,100 last month and compared with $280,400 a year earlier.”
