Home sales surge, boosting recovery hopes
Tax break helps boost housing market, but GDP growth revised downward
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 11:34 a.m. CT, Tues., Dec . 22, 2009
www.msnbc.msn.com
WASHINGTON - The recovery may have gotten off to a slow start in the third quarter, but a surge in home sales last month could presage a more robust end to the year.
Sales of existing homes rose in November to the highest level in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has pulled the housing market back from its worst downturn since the Great Depression.
The National Association of Realtors said sales rose 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million from a downwardly revised pace of 6.09 million in October. Sales had been expected to rise to a pace of 6.25 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
