Existing home sales rose in US for second consecutive month

Resales went up by 1.1% in March

(Credit: Getty Images)
(Credit: Getty Images)

Resales in the U.S. increased in March, the second consecutive month of positive growth.

Sales of existing homes increased by 1.1 percent last month to hit a seasonally annual rate of 5.6 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Last year, sales in March dropped by 1.2 percent.

Home sales dropped in December and January but then rose in February and March. Based on the current pace of sales, March had a 3.6-month supply of homes on the market. The median sale price last month was $250,400, a 5.8 percent increase from last year.

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Annual deals for homes less than $250,000 dropped in March, while deals for homes more than $250,000 increased compared to last year. This was partly due to lower inventory for cheaper homes.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, told the Journal that there is strong demand for lower end housing, but “inventories are being drained away, and with so few inventories, there are few transactions.” [WSJ]Eddie Small