Home Sales, Existing Home Sales | featured news

home resales fell in May and the median sales price rose only because of a drop in sale of lower priced homes, casting a shadow on the country's nascent housing market recovery.

U.S. home resales surged in January to a 1-1/2 year high and the supply of properties on the market was the lowest in almost seven years, pointing to a nascent housing recovery.

The economy seems to have picked up in the second half of the year. But apparently no one told the housing market. Home prices continued to fall in October, even as sales of existing homes picked up and homebuilders applied for more permits. After stabilizing this summer, prices fell at a 7.5 percent annual rate in the three months ending in October, according to the latest data from CoreLogic, a real estate research firm.

The National Association of Realtors said the number of people who signed contracts to buy homes rose in November. The index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes increased by 3.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in November, offering the latest sign the economy was ending the year on a more solid footing after a sluggish third-quarter performance.

Buying activity in the residential real estate market slowed dramatically in July, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors. The dramatic plunge is yet another sign the U.S. economy may be heading toward a slowdown or double-dip recession.

Sales fall for a third straight month, dropping to the lowest level since last July.

Sales of previously occupied homes took the largest monthly drop in more than 40 years last month, sinking more dramatically than expected after lawmakers gave buyers additional time to use a tax credit.

The recovery may have gotten off to a slow start in the third quarter, but a surge in sales of existing homes in November could presage a more robust end to the year.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes surged to their highest level in more than two years in September, a survey showed on Friday, providing further evidence the housing market and economy were on the mend.