Existing Home Sales Rebounded In September

The National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday that existing home sales rose in September, marking a reversal from the previous two months, which saw a decline.

Total existing home sales for September rose 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.47 million after reading 5.30 million in August and also marks the highest since June's reading of 5.57 million.

September's existing home sales also mark an increase of 0.6 percent from the same month a year ago.

All major regions in the United States saw an increase in closings throughout September, and distressed sales fell to a new low of 4 percent of the market.

Related Link: The U.S. Cities With The Most Overvalued And Undervalued Homes

The median existing-home price for all housing types in September rose 5.6 percent from a year ago to $234,200 and marks the 55th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.

First-time buyers accounted for 34 percent of sales in September, which marks an increase from 31 percent in August and 29 percent a year ago. In fact, September's reading matches the highest seen since July 2012.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the two-month slump in existing sales reversed course convincingly in September. "The home search over the past several months for a lot of prospective buyers, and especially for first-time buyers, took longer than usual because of the competition for the minimal amount of homes for sale," he said. "Most families and move-up buyers look to close before the new school year starts. Their diminishing presence from the market towards the end of summer created more opportunities for aspiring first-time homeowners to buy last month."

Related ETFs

• SPDR S&P Homebuilders (ETF) XHB is down 8.71 percent over the last three-month period.
• iShares Dow Jones US Home Const. (ETF) ITB is down over 9.5 percent in the last three months.
• PowerShares Dynamic Bldg & Const. (ETF) PKB is down roughly 9 percent over the last three months.

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