Sales of Existing Homes in the US rose 10.1% in October to 6.1 million annually. Economists forecast much smaller growth just north of 2% to mark gains for the sixth time in the past seven months. Sales grew largest in condos/co-ops, up 13.2%, while single family homes increased 9.7%. Consequently, the months supply of home dropped sharply to seven months, the lowest since early 2007. Despite the uplifting news, the average price of a house continued to drop for the fourth consecutive month to $218,100 from $221,900. Ultimately, the rapid rise in sales may continue as the tax credit for new home buyers will likely spur increased selling. The program, now extended through June 2010, has been expanded to include a $6,500 credit for purchases by existing homeowners who have lived in the same property for at least five years.
Reaction to the release has been minimal, with markets maintaining earlier gains as US equities are up nearly two percent along with crude nearing $80 per barrel on dollar weakness across nearly all major crosses.
Existing Homes Annualized Sales
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