Existing-home sales in November hit their highest pace in a decade, as the National Association of Realtors reports a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.81 million.
November’s figures were 5.6 percent higher than October’s rate of 5.5 million and 3.8 percent up from a year ago. November’s rate is the strongest reported since December 2006’s 6.42 million.
“Faster economic growth in recent quarters, the booming stock market and continuous job gains are fueling substantial demand for buying a home as 2017 comes to an end,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. “As evidenced by a subdued level of first-time buyers and increased share of cash buyers, move-up buyers with considerable down payments and those with cash made up a bulk of the sales activity last month.”
Existing-home sales in the Northeast increased 6.7 percent month-over-month to an annual rate of 800,000. Midwest sales went up 8.4 percent to a rate of 1.42 million. Sales in the South jumped 8.3 percent to 2.34 million. Sales in the West decreased 2.3 percent to 1.25 million.
