Existing Home Sales Pick Up Sharply

Final sales of existing homes picked up sharply in September as did contract signings. Pending sales rose 1.5 percent in the month for the best showing since April. And gains are concentrated in the two most important housing regions, the South which is up 1.9 percent and the West with a 4.7 percent gain. Final sales (in data released last week) are up 0.6 percent year-on-year with pending sales up 1.5 percent. Today's report points to an uplift for the resale market which has been sharply lagging strong acceleration in the new home market.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Resales have been flat all year, only fractionally above the year-ago level at the same time that new home sales have been growing at a 25 percent rate. But forecasters see pending sales bouncing back from August, up a consensus plus 1.0 percent in September.