Home sales highest in nine years

Fueled by low interest rates, home sales in the U.S. reached a nine-year high in May, showing that the housing market continues to stay steady. This information and more was released in the latest report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The sale of existing homes increased by 1.8 percent this year, showing an annual growth rate of 5.53 million homes sold in May, the highest it has been since February 2007.

Some had concerns about whether the overall U.S economy would show any growth at all in 2016. The first quarter of the year showed very little improvement, but with housing and retail sales both up and improvements in international trade, the second quarter has shown significant increases.

Deputy Chief Economist Millan Mulraine of TD Securities remarked that these figures show that the housing market has fully recovered from the recession and that the economy as a whole is strong.

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Home sales had declined slightly in April with the revised number of sales standing at 5.43 million following the announced 5.45 million. Most economists expected May sales to be around 5.54 million units, an increase of 1.1 percent. While they did not quite reach that mark, the number sold did reflect a 4.5 percent increase from May 2015.

While home sales have improved for the past three months, the average house price continues to increase due to a lack of homes for sale.

Originally Posted at: http://www.moneytips.com/home-sales-highest-in-nine-years/355

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