Sales of existing homes in April hit the fastest pace in four months, as more homes came on the market and price growth slowed down, according to data released Thursday.
Existing-home sales rose 1.3% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.65 million — the fastest pace since December and the first increase this year, the National Association of Realtors reported.
“The increase reverses just a fraction of recent weakening. Sales will need to keep rising to establish a renewed uptrend,” said Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected sales to spring up in April after a rough winter, hitting a rate of 4.66 million, compared with a March rate of 4.59 million. For context, there was an average monthly sales pace of more than 6 million existing homes over the five years leading up to a 2005 bubble peak.
Source: Marketwatch
