US home sales surge to highest level in two years

Business News

Oct 23, 2009, 16:12 GMT

Washington - Sales of existing homes in the United States surged 9.4 per cent in September to their highest level in more than two years, figures from an industry group showed Friday, in a strong sign that the country's housing crisis may be easing. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said home sales climbed to an annual rate of 5.57 million in September, up 9.4 per cent from August and 9.2 per cent from September 2008. It is the highest sales rate since July 2007. The sharp rebound is largely thanks to a government tax credit for first-time buyers, aimed at bringing the housing sector out of a massive slump that began in mid-2006. Congress is considering extending the tax credits, which are set to expire November 30. 'The rising sales momentum needs to continue for a few additional quarters until we reach a point of a self-sustaining recovery,' said Lawrence Yun, an economist with NAR. We are hopeful the tax credit will be extended and possibly expanded to more buyers, at least through the middle of next year,' Yun said. The housing downturn was the chief cause of the global financial crisis, as a record number of mortgage defaults by homeowners cost Wall Street hundreds of billions of dollars.

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