Investing.com – U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected in October, bolstering optimism over the health of the housing market, according to a report released on Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The industry data showed that home resales increased by 2.0% in October to a seasonally adjusted 5.48 million units from 5.39 million units in the previous month.
The consensus forecast was for a 0.7% rise to 5.42 million units in October.
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.
The report also showed that median existing-home price for all housing types in October was $247,000, up 5.5%from October 2016 ($234,100). October's price increase marks the 68th straight month of year-over-year gains.
“Existing-home sales increased in October to their strongest pace since earlier this summer, but continual supply shortages led to fewer closings on an annual basis for the second straight month,” the report indicated.
“Job growth in most of the country continues to carry on at a robust level and is starting to slowly push up wages, which is in turn giving households added assurance that now is a good time to buy a home,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun commented in the release.
“While the housing market gained a little more momentum last month, sales are still below year ago levels because low inventory is limiting choices for prospective buyers and keeping price growth elevated,” he said.
Yun added that there were still residual effects on sales from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, but that he expected sales to completely bounce back in Texas and Florida because demand was “very strong” before the storms.
After the report, EUR/USD traded at 1.1734 compared to 1.1731 before the release, GBP/USD exchanged hands at 1.3254, compared to 1.3251 before the data, while USD/JPY traded at 112.22 compared to 112.23 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 93.85 compared to 93.86 earlier.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets traded higher after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 136 points, or 0.58%, the S&P 500 gained 14 points, or 0.52%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded up 56 points, or 0.82%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,283.52 a troy ounce, compared to $1,283.70 ahead of the data, while U.S. crude oil changed hands at $57.12, compared to $56.73 earlier.