The National Association of Realtors® said today that home sales rose 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million in September. “Much of the momentum is from people responding to the first-time buyer tax credit, which is freeing many sellers to make a trade and buy another home,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
Sales of existing homes bounce back to their highest level since July 2007. The Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” report, released Wednesday, points to housing as a bright spot in the economic landscape. The U.S. Labor Department said that real estate was one of the industries with the strongest economic gains.
Home sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The median sales price was $174,900, down 8.5 percent from a year earlier, and slightly lower than August’s median of $177,300.
