Existing Home Sales Exceed Expectations

Sales of previously occupied homes surprised economists by beating economic and market estimates. According to the National Association of Realtors, June Existing Home Sales beat estimates by 190,000 units. The annualized rate came in at 5.37 million units vs. consensus estimates of only 5.18 million units.

This is the first reading since the housing tax credit has expired, so it is a positive sign that we surprised to the upside. The month-over-month numbers for June were actually down 5.1% but the year-over-year numbers showed an increase of 9%!