Home resales rose in July as low interest rates and a modest improvement in the labor market helped home buying conditions, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday.
The NAR said existing home sales rose 2.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.47 million units last month. That was just below analysts’ expectations of a 4.52 million-unit rate.
Nationwide, the median price for a home resale was $187,300 in July, 9.4 percent higher than in the same month a year earlier.
“Mortgage interest rates have been at record lows this year,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, adding that the labor market was also showing signs of improvement. “Combined, these factors are helping to unleash pent up demand.”
The U.S. housing market, which began falling into a deep rut six years ago, has been a relative bright spot in the economy this year. Home prices have shown signs of stabilizing and many economists think residential construction will give a slight boost to the economy this year.
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Dean Popplewell
He has a deep understanding of market fundamentals and the impact of global events on capital markets.
He is respected among professional traders for his skilled analysis and career history as global head
of trading for firms such as Scotia Capital and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since joining OANDA in 2006, Dean
has played an instrumental role in driving awareness of the forex market as an emerging asset class
for retail investors, as well as providing expert counsel to a number of internal teams on how to best
serve clients and industry stakeholders.
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