Investing.com – U.S. existing home sales rose more than expected in January, bolstering optimism over the health of the housing market, according to a report released on Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The industry data showed that home resales jumped 3.3% in January to a seasonally adjusted 5.69 million units from 5.51 million units in the previous month. December’s data was revised from an initial reading of 5.49 million units.
January's sales pace is 3.8% higher than a year ago (5.48 million) and surpasses November 2016 (5.60 million) as the strongest since February 2007 (5.79 million).
The consensus forecast was for a 1.1% increase from the initial reading to 5.54 million units.
The data helps to gauge the strength of the U.S. housing market and is considered to be a key indicator of overall economic strength.
NAR indicated also indicated that the median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $228,900, up 7.1% from January 2016 ($213,700).
January's price increase was the fastest since last January (8.1%) and marks the 59th consecutive month of year-over-year gains, the report added.
"Existing-home sales stepped out to a fast start in 2017, surpassing a recent cyclical high and increasing in January to the fastest pace in almost a decade," the report said.
"Much of the country saw robust sales activity last month as strong hiring and improved consumer confidence at the end of last year appear to have sparked considerable interest in buying a home," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun explained said.
"Market challenges remain, but the housing market is off to a prosperous start as homebuyers staved off inventory levels that are far from adequate and deteriorating affordability conditions," he added.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.0515 from around 1.0513 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2465 from 1.2464 earlier, while USD/JPY traded at 113.17 compared to 113.16 before the release.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 101.56, compared to 101.57 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were slightly lower after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 12 points, or 0.06%, the S&P 500 lost 5 points, or 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded down 13 points, or 0.22%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,237.15 a troy ounce, compared to $1,238.55 ahead of the data, while U.S. crude oil changed hands at $53.64, compared to $53.58 earlier.