US home resales unexpectedly fall, tarnishing housing recovery

[WASHINGTON] US home resales unexpectedly fell in April as tight inventories pushed prices higher, giving a cautious signal on the strength of the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales dropped 3.3 per cent to an annual rate of 5.04 million units.

March's sales pace was revised up to 5.21 million units from the previously reported 5.19 million units. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales rising to a 5.24 million-unit pace last month.

The relative weakness in home resales puts a dent in what had been one of the brighter spots of the broader US economy after gross domestic product barely grew in the first quarter.

The number of homes on the market last month fell 0.9 per cent from a year earlier, helping push the median home price up 8.9 per cent from the same month in 2014.

REUTERS