Existing-home sales increased 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in April from March's rate of 4.47 million, while the price for a median existing home increased 3.1 percent over last month's price to $177,400, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales and prices are up 10.0 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, from April 2011.
Existing-home sales increased 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in April from March's rate of 4.47 million, while the price for a median existing home increased 3.1 percent over last month's price to $177,400, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Sales and prices are up 10.0 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively, from April 2011.
Sales of single-family home sales rose 3.0 percent to a rate of 4.09 million in April from 3.97 million in March, and are 9.9 percent higher than the 3.72 million-unit pace a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $178,000 in April, up 10.4 percent from April 2011.
"It is no longer just the investors who are taking advantage of high affordability conditions," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "A return of normal home buying for occupancy is helping home sales across all price points, and now the recovery appears to be extending to home prices.
"This is the first time we've had back-to-back price increases from a year earlier since June and July of 2010, when the gains were less than 1 percent," Yun said. "For the year we're looking for a modest overall price gain of 1.0 to 2.0 percent, with stronger improvement in 2013."
