Economists participating in a recent Reuters survey had forecast sales would rise, on average, 2.5 percent to a 5 million unit pace. Existing home sales have now increased in six of the last eight months, an NAR spokesperson said. While the improvement is rather slow, demand is increasing even as interest rates climb back up, and that is definitely a good sign.
The housing market has been struggling to gain a foothold in recovery as waves of foreclosed properties continue to hit the market. These discounted properties apply downward pressure on values and inflate the supply. Sales of distressed properties, which are typically discounted 20 percent from traditional sales, accounted for about 40 percent of overall home sales. That share is up from 39 percent from February and the largest proportion of distressed sales to traditional sales since April 2009.
The median price for US homes sold in March was 5.9 percent lower than that of March 2010, at just under $160,000. Sales, meanwhile, were 6.3 percent lower than sales last March.
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