November 22nd, 2011 7:28 PM by Teresa Molina
Washington, DC, November 21, 2011
Existing-home sales improved in October while the number of homes on the market continued to decline, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Total existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in October from a downwardly revised 4.90 million in September, and are 13.5 percent above the 4.38 million unit level in October 2010.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market has been fairly steady but at a lower than desired level. “Home sales have been stuck in a narrow range despite several improving factors that generally lead to higher home sales such as job creation, rising rents and high affordability conditions. Many people who are attempting to buy homes are thwarted in the process,” he said.
http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2011/11/ehs_oct