Investing.com – U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected 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 increased by 5.6% in November to a seasonally adjusted 5.81 million units from 5.50 million units in the previous month which was revised up from 5.48 million.
The consensus forecast was for a 0.9% rise to 5.54 million units in November.
After last month’s increase, sales are 3.8% higher than a year ago and are at their strongest pace since December 2006 (6.42 million).
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.
In the report, NAR noted that existing home sales had surged for a third straight month, reaching their fasts pace in almost 11 years and that all major regions except for the West saw a significant hike in sales activity last month.
“Faster economic growth in recent quarters, the booming stock market and continuous job gains are fueling substantial demand for buying a home as 2017 comes to an end,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun explained in the release.
The report also showed that median existing-home price for all housing types in November was $248,000, up 5.8% from the same month in 2016 ($234,400). November's price increase marks the 69th straight month of year-over-year gains.
“Price appreciation is too fast in a lot of markets right now,” Yun commented, adding that “the increase in homebuilder optimism must translate to significantly more new construction in 2018 to help ease these acute inventory shortages.”
After the report, EUR/USD traded at 1.1866 compared to 1.1853 before the release, GBP/USD exchanged hands at 1.3411, compared to 1.3406 before the data, while USD/JPY traded at 113.17 compared to 113.16 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 92.93, compared to 93.01 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded mixed after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points, or 0.22%, the S&P 500 gained 3 points, or 0.11%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 7 points, or 0.10%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,267.80 a troy ounce, compared to $1,267.10 ahead of the data, while U.S. crude oil changed hands at $57.69, compared to $57.73 earlier.