by Michelle Jamrisko | Bloomberg
Previously owned U.S. homes sold in May at the fastest pace since November 2009, driven by first-time buyers and indicating budding momentum in the residential real estate market.
Closings on existing properties, which usually occur a month or two after a contract is signed, rose 5.1 percent to a 5.35 million annualized rate, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 5.26 million pace. The share of first-time buyers matched the highest level since September 2012.
Employment gains, rising incomes and still-cheap borrowing costs are combining to propel sales after a period of uneven demand from late 2014 through early this year. The prospect of higher interest rates as the Federal Reserve considers tighter monetary policy may be encouraging more Americans to take the homeownership plunge.
“Incomes are doing better and more people are working,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. Stanley correctly forecast May sales. “I would imagine we’ll continue to see better demand from first-time buyers.”
