Housing market in the United States continues to improve with an unexpected increase seen in January, its six-month high. The news come amid the ongoing global economy turmoil and financial market downturn.
As reported by Reuters, existing home sales rose 0.4 percent in January with an annual rate of 5.47 million units. This is the highest level the market has reached since last July and the second highest since 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The increase was a bit of a surprise because economists had forecast a decline of 2.9 percent to 5.32 million units of home resales for January, but instead the pace moved upward. The Northeast and the Midwest part of the country saw strong sales, while the West fell 4.1 percent and the South remained unchanged. The NAR data also showed 11 percent increase in sales of existing homes compared to the figures last year, the largest year-on-year advance since July 2013.
"The housing market has shown promising resilience in recent months, but home prices are still rising too fast because of ongoing supply constraints," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, via World Property Journal. "Despite the global economic slowdown, the housing sector continues to recover and will likely help the U.S. economy avoid a recession."
Last month, the median price for existing homes, which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 8.2 percent at $213,800 compared to January 2015. It is the largest gain recorded since April 2015 which saw an 8.5 percent increase, World Property Journal reported.
"These are solid growth numbers that continue to tell a story of a very healthy market coming into the important spring season. Not too hot, not too cold, just right," said Stephen Phillips, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices president.
However, Yun warned that the current supply levels might not be sufficient to meet the housing demand, particularly with the spring buying season coming up.