3Q Resales Shatter Record

Total existing-home sales -- including condominiums and co-operatives -- zoomed past the old record in the third quarter, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.40 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.The record resales rate was 18.7% higher than the 6.23 million rate recorded a year earlier. Resales rose in all 48 states for which complete data were available (plus the District of Columbia), and in 43 of those states and the district the sales were up by double-digit rates from the levels of a year earlier, the NAR reported. David Lereah, the NAR's chief economist, said it was the first time in 20 years that all available states reported sales increases. The previous record, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.70 million resales, was set in the first quarter of 2003. The biggest year-over-year gains were recorded in Nevada, where the resale rate was up 37.6%; Washington, up 36.7%; and Arizona, up 29.4%. The NAR can be found on the Internet at http://realtor.org.