U.S. home sales hit 2-year high while new starts increase

Published Sep 19, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Sep 19, 2012)

Sales of previously occupied homes jumped in August across the United States to the highest level in more than two years, adding momentum to the housing recovery. August sales rose 7.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million, the National Association of Realtors reports. That's the most since May 2010, when sales were fueled by a federal home-buying tax credit. In the Capital Region, however, August home sales were down for the first time all year, by 15%. Read that story in Daily Report here. Meanwhile, the federal government also reports today that U.S. homebuilders broke ground on more new homes in August compared to July. Even with the gains seen in national reports today, however, the housing market overall remains weak. Many would-be buyers are having difficulty qualifying for mortgage loans or can't afford the larger down payments being required by banks since the recession—despite record-low interest rates. And sales of previously occupied homes remain well below the more than 5.5 million figure that economists consider consistent with a healthy market. At the same time, the number of first-time homebuyers—who experts say are critical to a housing rebound—slipped to 31% from 34%.