Home buying activity south of the border rose in October for the second straight month to a new cyclical high, a sign the American housing market is stabilizing as the year comes to a close.
Figures released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors showed sales of previously-owned homes rose 2.0% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.60 million, the strongest pace since February 2007.
Economists had expected a sales rate of 5.45 million in October.
Existing-home sales account for the vast majority of U.S. home buying activity. After hitting an annual rate of 5.57 million in June, sales softened over most of the third quarter before picking up over the past two months. September’s sales pace was revised up to 5.49 million from an earlier estimate of 5.47 million.
Sales of previously-owned homes in October were up 5.9% from a year earlier.
