Dive Brief:
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Sales of existing homes increased by 2.4% in September, hitting a one-year high, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
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The activity brings sales of existing homes to an annual rate of 5.17 units, which exceeded the expectations of economists, who predicted a rise to 5.10 million units. A decline in August had reduced the number to an annual rate of 5.05 million units.
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Still, sales were 1.7% percent below last September’s numbers.
Dive Insight:
The announcement came four days after the Census Bureau reported that new housing starts rose 6.3% in September. Most of those gains came from the multifamily sector.