Home Sales Data Rebounds

Posted by jbrumley on January 22, 2016 11:16 AM

Existing Home Sales Rebound, and Could Have Been Even Better If...

Last month, when November's pace of existing home sales fell to a multi-year low of 4.76 million, investors were understandably worried a brewing collapse in the housing market was a sign of an economic recession, which in turn would lead to a bear market for stocks. Those worries were largely relieved today, however, as the pace of existing home sales popped back to 5.46 million...  the fourth highest reading since 2009, and a reading that mostly renews the ongoing recovery of the real estate market.

In fact, as encouraging as the number was, one can't help but wonder if it could have been even bigger had it not been for the limited amount of supply of existing home sales. Already near multi-year low levels, as of December the supply of existing home sales fell to a multi-year low 3.9 months' worth.

Home Sales Chart
012216-home-sales-supply

December's new home sales data has yet to be reported, but given that its sales and supply trend has loosely mirrored that of existing home sales, odds are good it will equally suggest ongoing strength for the real estate market, largely handicapped by a limited number of available homes.

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