US home sales slump ahead of busy spring selling season
Housing market continues to buck broader economy trend which has shown signs of gaining momentum after stumbling at the turn of the year
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. The sharp drop in home sales reported by the National Association of Realtors on Monday came ahead of the busy spring selling season. The housing market continues to buck the broader economy, which has shown signs of gaining momentum after stumbling at the turn of the year. Existing home sales dropped 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.21-million units in March . February’s sales pace was revised down to 5.48-million units from the previously reported 5.51-million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast existing home sales would fall 3.8% to a rate of 5.30-million units in March . Existing home sales, which make up about 90% of US home sales, declined 5.4% from a year ago. That was the 13th straight year-on-year decrease in home sales.
Falling mortgage rates, strengthening wage gro...
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