WASHINGTON: US home sales fell more than expected in March, pointing to continued weakness in the housing market despite declining mortgage rates and slowing house price gains.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast existing home sales would fall 3.8 per cent to a rate of 5.30 million units last month. Existing home sales, which make up about 90 per cent of US home sales, declined 5.4 per cent from a year ago. That was the 13th straight year-on-year decrease in home sales.
A six-to-seven-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand. The median existing house price increased 3.8 per cent from a year ago to US$259,400 in March. That was the second straight monthly drop in homebuilding and pushed starts substantially below the 1.5 million to 1.6 million units per month range that realtors estimate is needed to alleviate the shortage.
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