By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
Sales of existing homes roared back in March after suffering an unexpected setback in February. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said sales of existing single-family houses, townhouses, condominiums, and cooperative apartments were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.71 million, an increase of 4.4 percent from the downwardly adjusted February number of 5.47 million (from 5.48 million).
The March results were toward the high end of analysts’ estimates. Those polled by Econoday were looking for sales in the range of 5.49 to 5.80 million units with a consensus of 5.61 million.
The pace of sales was up 5.9 percent from that of last March and surpasses this past January to become the best month for sales since February 2007. Sales then were at the rate of 5.79 million units.
