US Existing Home Sales jump in November - Wells Fargo

According to analysts from Wells Fargo, when you add in the booming stock market and surging consumer confidence, all systems appear to be a go for liftoff to a more meaningful housing recovery. 

Key Quotes: 

“Existing home sales jumped 5.6 percent in November, with sales of singlefamily homes rising 4.5 percent and sales of condominiums and co-ops jumping 14.3 percent. Sales have risen in each of the past three months, following a lull earlier this year. Moreover, sales for October were also revised higher and now show a gain of 2.4 percent versus the first reported 2 percent gain.”

“The increase in buyers is also consistent with the stronger run of growth the economy has seen in recent months. Real GDP growth has risen at a better-than 3 percent pace the past two quarters, job growth remains solid and the unemployment rate has fallen to just 4.1 percent. When you add in the booming stock market and surging consumer confidence, all systems appear to be a go for liftoff to a more meaningful housing recovery.”

“November’s surge in existing home sales came despite the continued drop in the inventory of homes available for sale. The housing inventory fell 7.2 percent in November to 1.67 million homes, which is 9.7 percent lower than it was one year ago. The inventory of homes available for sale has fallen year-over-year for the past 30 months. At the current sales pace, the number of unsold homes available for sale equates to a 3.4-month supply.” 

“The median price of an existing home has risen 5.8 percent over the past year to $248,000. We may see a surge in closings of higher-priced homes in December, which would enable buyers to be grandfathered with the current more favorable mortgage-interest deduction.”