Sales of existing homes rose 1 percent in October, as a drop in mortgage rates to the lowest level in more than 14 years pulled more buyers into the market, the National Association of Realtors said today.
October resales were 2.6 percent ahead of the 3.07 million units sold in October last year.
The data on sales of existing homes, along with the rise in housing starts reported earlier this month, suggests that buyers are being influenced more by low mortgage rates and less by economic news, said association President Dorcas Helfant.
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., reported that the national average rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 8.84 percent in October. That compared with 9.01 percent in
September.
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