Investing.com – U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly rose in November, bolstering optimism over the health of the housing market, according to a report released on Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The industry data showed that home resales rose 0.7% in November to a seasonally adjusted 5.61 million units from 5.57 million units in the previous month. October’s data was revised from an initial reading of 5.60 million units.
The consensus forecast was for a 1.0% decrease to 5.50 million units.
The data helps to gauge the strength of the U.S. housing market and is considered to be a key indicator of overall economic strength.
NAR indicated that a big surge in the Northeast and a smaller gain in the South pushed existing-home sales up in November for the third consecutive month.
November's sales pace is now the highest since February 2007 (5.79 million) and is 15.4% higher than a year ago (4.86 million).
"The healthiest job market since the Great Recession and the anticipation of some buyers to close on a home before mortgage rates accurately rose from their historically low level have combined to drive sales higher in recent months," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun explained.
"Furthermore, it's no coincidence that home shoppers in the Northeast — where price growth has been tame all year — had the most success last month," he added.
The report showed that the median existing-home price for all housing types in November was $234,900, a 6.8% increase from the same month last year, marking the 57th consecutive annual increase in home prices.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.0438 from around 1.0442 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2383 from 1.2384 earlier, while USD/JPY traded at 117.45 compared to 117.24 before the release.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 102.89, compared to 102.83 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were slipping lower after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9 points, or 0.05%, the S&P 500 slipped 3 points, or 0.11%, while the Nasdaq Composite inched down 10 points, or 0.18%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,134.35 a troy ounce, compared to $1,135.95 ahead of the data, while U.S. crude oil traded at $53.51 a barrel from $53.44 earlier.