US existing homes sales pace is up 10 per cent to two-year high
SALES numbers for previously owned homes in the US jumped more than 10 per cent in October to reach the highest rate since February 2007.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said sales surged 10.1 per cent month-on-month to an annual rate of 6.1m sales, up from 5.54m in September.
Analysts said the boom was partly created by the $8,000 (£4,800) first-time buyer tax credit, which has now been extended to next April.
The national median home price fell 7.1 per cent from October last year, the smallest decline in over a year, to $173,100.
The housing market is slowly mending after a three-year decline, which contributed to tipping the US economy into its worst recession in seven decades.