Strong month for home sales

WASHINGTON - Americans are buying more homes in every region of the country, the latest indication that the housing market could be on the mend. An increasing portion of those sales are from first-time buyers, who are critical to a housing recovery.

Sales of previously occupied homes rose 3.4 percent in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That nearly matches January's pace of 4.63 million --the best in two years. It is still well below the nearly 6 million that most economists equate with healthy markets.

A pickup in hiring and cheaper mortgages, combined with lower home prices in most markets, has made homebuying more attractive. Though many economists acknowledged that the market has a long way to go, most said the April sales report was encouraging.

"The trend in sales is upward, and we think it has a good deal further to go over the next few months as payrolls pick up further and mortgage availability improves," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics.

Sales rose last month from March in all regions of the country. They increased 5.1 percent rise in the Northeast, 3.5 percent in the South, 4.4 percent in the West and 1 percent in the Midwest.

And more first-time buyers entered the market. In April, they made up 35 percent of sales, up from 32 percent in March.

"First-time homebuyers are slowly making their way back," said Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets. "That is still below the 40 percent-to-45 percent range during healthy times, but the highest in almost half a year."

by Associated Press May 22, 2012



Strong month for home sales