Existing home sales in unexpected rise to near 10-year high

Washington

US home resales unexpectedly rose in November, reaching their highest level in nearly 10 years, as buyers rushed into the market to lock in low interest rates in anticipation of further increases in borrowing costs.

The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales increased 0.7 per cent to an annual rate of 5.61 million units last month. That was the highest sales pace since February 2007. "People who had locked in their rate" followed through with their purchases last month, Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the Realtors group in Washington, told reporters as the data were released.