US existing home sales: A good quarter - Wells Fargo

Analysts from Wells Fargo, expect home sales to rise 4% by year-end, boosted by low mortgage rates and better employment conditions.

Key Quotes:

“Existing home sales rose 5.1 percent in March to a 5.33 millionunit rate, recouping the majority of February’s loss. While the month-to-month data tend to be more volatile, on a year-to-date basis, existing home sales are running 5.6 percent above their year-ago level.”

“The months’ supply of existing homes increased for the third consecutive month to 4.5 months and total inventory of existing homes available for sale rose 5.9 percent to 1.98 million units. While the pickup is encouraging, supply levels remain lean.”

“We look for existing home sales to rise roughly 4 percent by year-end 2016, as low mortgage rates and strengthening employment conditions are likely to support sales in the coming quarters.”