By ALAN ZIBEL, AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel, Ap Real Estate Writer –
WASHINGTON – The U.S. housing market has started to recover from the most
far-reaching crisis since the Great Depression, data released Thursday show.
Sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third month in a row in June, the
National Association of Realtors reported. That hasn't happened since early
2004, during the boom.
"The turnaround in the housing market appears finally to be here and indeed may
be gaining some speed," wrote Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc.
Stocks jumped on the news, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising above 9,000 for the first time since early
January.
Home sales rose 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million
last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May. Sales were up in all four regions of the
country.
It was the highest level of sales since last October and beat economists'
expectations. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.84 million units, according to Thomson
Reuters.
In another encouraging sign, the share of foreclosures on the market is
shrinking. About one out of three homes sold in June was foreclosure-related, down from nearly half earlier this
year.
And the glut of homes up for sale dwindled to 3.8 million. That's a 9.4-month
supply at the current sales pace and another important sign of a recovery. When the market balances at a 7-month
supply prices should begin to stabilize, the Realtors's group said.
That probably won't happen until next year because of a backlog of foreclosures
that have yet to come on to the market. The median sales price was $181,800 in June, down 15 percent from year-ago
levels but up slightly from $174,700 in May.
Nevertheless, prices have risen for three straight months in about half of the 55
major metropolitan areas tracked by the Associated Press-Re/Max Housing Report, also released Thursday.
