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Existing Sales hit 10-Year Low, But Low Rates are a Silver Lining
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Existing home sales fell hard in
April, the numbers coming in about where analysts expected them but breaking a nine-month
string of annual gains. The National Association of Realtors® said total sales of
single-family homes, townhouses, condos, and cooperative were at a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 4.33 million, down from the 5.27 million sold in March,
a 17.8 percent decline. It was the lowest level of sales since July 2010 (3.45
million) and the largest month-over-month drop since July 2010 (-22.5 percent).
The loss, which NAR said was due to the coronavirus pandemic, brings the
aggregate decline over the last two months to 26.3 percent. Sales are now down
17.2 percent from the 5.23 million rate in April 2019 The rate of sales almost matched the
4.325 million-unit consensus estimate from analysts polled by Econoday.
Their predictions had covered a range from 4.20 to 4.92 million.
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