Home sales rose 5.5 percent in September

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Existing U.S. home sales rose 5.5 percent in September, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

Sales of single-family homes, town homes, condominiums and co-ops reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units in the month, up from 4.91 million in August. Sales in September were 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million annual rate of a year ago, 2007, the association said.

"The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.

Nationally, the total inventory of homes on the market fell 1.6 percent to 4.27 million homes, representing a 9.9-month backlog at current prices. The backlog dropped from a 10.6-month supply of homes for sale in August.

The national median price for homes also fell, down 9 percent from a year ago to $191,600.

"Compared to a fairly small share of foreclosures or short sales a year ago, distressed sales are currently 35 to 40 percent of transactions," Yun said. "These are pulling the median price down because many are being sold at discounted prices."