Existing Home Sales Rise in November

Washington, DC, December 31, 2007--Existing U.S. home sales rose slightly in November from a record low, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales of previously owned homes rose 0.4 percent to a 5 million-unit annual rate, the first increase in nine months.

The inventory of unsold homes was smaller than in November, dropping to a supply of 10.3 months, down from 10.7 months in October.

Sales were also 20 percent below the 6.25 million-unit level in November 2006.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market appears to be stabilizing. “Near term, existing-home sales should continue to hover in a narrow range, just as they have since September, and that’s good news because it’ll be a further sign that the housing market is stabilizing,” he said.

“Mortgage interest rates are near historic lows and the most current data shows decelerating price declines, along with a modest reduction in the number of homes on the market.” Disruptions in mortgage availability and pricing peaked in August, which caused sales to slow in subsequent months.

NAR President Richard Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said that Congress should expand affordable financing.

“Consumers have some choices with safer conventional financing, but raising the limit on conforming loans would significantly revive home sales,” he said. “This would help creditworthy buyers in hard hit regions like California and Florida by greatly increasing access to low-interest-rate mortgages. NAR, as the leading advocate for homeownership, strongly urges lawmakers to act quickly on this important measure.”