Existing home sales in September rise to highest level this year

The national housing market rebounded in September as home sales rose to their highest level of the year.

After dipping in August, sales of previously owned homes climbed 2.4% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.17 million, the National Assn. of Realtors said Tuesday. Analysts polled by FactSet expected an annual rate of 5.1 million.

Low mortgage rates, coupled with restrained price increases, boosted sales last month, the Realtors group said.

“Traditional buyers are entering a less competitive market with fewer investors searching for available homes,” the trade group’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said.

They’re also discovering falling interest rates as worries over the global economy grow and investors rush into U.S. Treasury bonds.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped below 4% last week, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Those declines may spur even more buyers to aggressively search for a home, said Quicken Loans Vice President Bill Banfield.

“This can give a boost to existing sales in the coming months, even if these levels are short-lived,” he said.

Still, U.S. sales last month were 1.7% below a year earlier, indicating that a purchase for some buyers remains difficult after prices climbed much faster than incomes in 2013.

Compared with August, sales rose in all regions except the Midwest, where they fell 5.6%. In the West, sales increased 7.1%.

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