US existing home sales hit fastest pace since 2007

Existing homes in the United States sold at the fastest pace in nearly 10 years in November, pointing to the sector's sustained strength, according to the monthly report released Wednesday.

Sales of condos, co-ops and single-family homes gained 0.7 percent to hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million for the month, the highest since February 2007 and 15.4 percent above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said the current healthy jobs market, and the fact home buyers anticipated an increase in interest rates, caused growth in sales for the third consecutive month.

And "it's no coincidence that home shoppers in the Northeast -- where price growth has been tame all year ? had the most success last month," Yun said in a statement.

The November result beat an analyst forecasts, which expected sales to cool from the big October increase, and predicted a rate of only 5.5 million.

The median home price rose 6.8 percent over the same month last year to $234,900, marking 57 consecutive months of year-on-year gains.

The inventory of unsold homes is down to a four month supply, from 4.3 months in October. Year-over-year, inventory has fallen for 18 straight months, and declined eight percent in November to 1.85 million existing homes on the market.

Inventory is now 9.3 percent below where it was a year ago, according to NAR, a continuing source of concern as new construction is not keeping pace with demand.