US: Existing home sales rise by 5.5 percent
Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) - Purchases of existing homes jumped 5.5 percent last month to a 5.18 million annual pace, the highest level in a year, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington.
The median sales price has dropped to $191,600, down by 9 percent from a year ago.
Economists said sales figures for this month and next will be critical in determining whether sales have reached a bottom as predicted by the Realtors' group.
``The housing downswing is really not exactly even nearing a bottom at this point,'' David Seiders, chief economist at the National Association of Homebuilders said Oct. 17 in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``The core problem in the economy is still housing, and house prices are decimating the financial markets.''
The median sales price has dropped to $191,600, down by 9 percent from a year ago.
Economists said sales figures for this month and next will be critical in determining whether sales have reached a bottom as predicted by the Realtors' group.
``The housing downswing is really not exactly even nearing a bottom at this point,'' David Seiders, chief economist at the National Association of Homebuilders said Oct. 17 in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``The core problem in the economy is still housing, and house prices are decimating the financial markets.''