Sales of existing homes in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in November to a level that still suggests the housing slump will be a drag on economic growth.
Purchases rose 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 5 million from a 4.98 million pace in October, the National Association of Realtors said in Washington. Sales were down 20 percent from November 2006, and the median home price fell 3.3 percent.
The improvement may be short-lived as higher mortgage costs and stricter lending rules further depress home sales, economists said.
In metro Denver, prices and sales of existing homes continued to decline in November, according to a separate report released in December. The number of homes sold in November dropped 3.2 percent compared with the year before. It was down 13.7 percent compared with October.
The median price of a single-family home was $229,500, a drop of 4.3 percent compared with the previous year. The median condo price dropped nearly 11 percent to $139,000.
The number of homes on the market was 27,127, a decline of 6.2 percent compared with October and 1.5 percent compared with the same time in 2006. The 2007 inventory increased every month through August but has declined each month since then.
Nationally, falling home prices and near-record inventories give would-be buyers more reason to sit on the sidelines to await better bargains.
“There are some mixed signals coming from the housing market, and I think overall the trend is toward weaker sales in the next quarter,” said Julia Coronado, senior economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, who correctly forecast sales.
Denver Post staff writer Margaret Jackson contributed to this report.
