WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Resales of U.S. homes increased 10.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million, the National Association of Realtors estimated Monday.
The 6.10-million rate was the highest since February 2007.
“Many buyers have been rushing to beat the deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit that was scheduled to expire at the end of this month,” NAR economist Lawrence Yun said. “With such a sale spike, a measurable decline should be anticipated in December and early next year before another surge in spring and early summer.”
The median sale price for all housing types was $173,100 last month, down 7.1% from October 2008, according to the report. By comparison, the median sales price for September fell to $174,900, down 8.5% from the same period last year, based on NAR’s October report.
Existing condominium and co-op sales also increased, up 13.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of of 770,0000 units in October from September’s pace of 680,000.
The increase in existing-home sales to a 6.10 million pace was larger than the median forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. They had been looking for a smaller gain to a 5.74 million annual rate from a revised 5.57 million in September.
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