Sales of previously owned single-family homes were up 7.2% compared with June and 5% from July 2008, The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Friday. The monthly gain was the largest on record for existing-home sales, which NAR has tracked since 1999.
“The housing market has decisively turned for the better,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales.”
Sales of existing homes rose in July for the fourth consecutive month with home sales at an annualized rate of 5.24 million proprieties, marking the first time they had been over the 5 million annualized rate mark since last September, when they hit 5.1 million. The July performance far exceeded expectations experts had forecast sales of 5 million.
