Sales of New U.S. Homes Surged in August to Six-Year High
Source: Bloomberg
By Jeanna Smialek Sep 24, 2014 10:18 AM ET
New-home sales in the U.S. surged in August to the highest level in more than six years, a sign that the housing recovery is making progress.
Purchases of new houses jumped 18 percent to a 504,000 annualized pace, the strongest since May 2008 and surpassing the highest forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The one-month increase was the biggest since January 1992.
The housing market is improving in fits and starts this year amid slow wage growth and tight credit conditions. Sustained improvement in the job market will be needed to push up pay and sustain a stronger recovery.
Sales could come in a little faster in the second half of the year, said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc. in New York, who projected an increase to 450,000, among the highest in the Bloomberg survey. The housing market is stable.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-24/sales-of-new-u-s-homes-surged-in-august-to-six-year-high.html