Supply of existing homes remains historically low
By Laura Kusisto and Eric Morath | The Wall Street Journal
U.S. home sales rose in January to the highest level since February 2007, a sign last year’s momentum in the sector extended into 2017 despite a limited supply of properties-for-sale and rising prices.
Purchases of previously owned homes, which account for the vast majority of U.S. sales, increased 3.3% from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million last month, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
Warm weather and slightly lower mortgage rates helped fuel better-than-expected demand. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected home sales to rise 1.1%, following a 2.8% decline last month.
