Sales of existing homes rose 2.5% in August on a nonseasonally adjusted basis, after falling 10% in July, according to new figures released by Re/Max this week.
The Denver-based real estate brokerage firm also reported that sales rose 8.5% from a year ago. “As we move from summer to fall it’s very encouraging that this year’s home selling season began strong and finished even stronger,” said Re/Max chief executive Margaret Kelly.
“We’re looking forward to 2013 being an even better year,” she added.
Economists at Wells Fargo Securities also believe next year will be better. Sales of new and existing homes have improved and “appear poised for even stronger growth in 2013,” according to a new WFS Economics Group report.
Despite stronger sales, the WFS economists see only modest price gains going forward.
“We believe prices have bottomed and look for most price measures to rise at around a 2% annual rate over the next couple of years,” according to the latest WFS “Housing Data Wrap-Up” report.
Re/Max reported that the median sales price in the 52 cities it tracks rose 6.3% from a year ago, but values were basically flat from July to August.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors releases its August
