Sales of existing homes, while still lower than year-ago levels, jumped in September.
The National Association of Realtors says existing sales of single-family houses, townhomes, condos and co-ops rose 10 percent from August to September, the biggest monthly gain in nearly 28 years.
Compared with a year ago, existing home sales nationwide were down 19.1 percent.
Still, the Realtors’ group says the housing market is in the early stages of recovery.
“A housing recovery is taking place but will be choppy at times depending on the duration and impact of a foreclosure moratorium,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “But the overall direction should be a gradual rising trend in home sales with buyers responding to historically low mortgage interest rates and very favorable affordability conditions.”
Distressed home sales accounted for 35 percent of all sales in September, compared to 34 percent in August.
Regionally, sales in the South, which includes the Washington area but stretches from Delaware to Florida, rose 10.6 percent in September.
Compared to a September 2009, sales in Washington were down 12.5 percent in September compared to a year ago, while prices were up 4 percent.
Nationally, housing inventory fell 1.9 percent last month to a level representing a 10.7-month supply at the current sales pace.
While overall sales remain lower than year-ago levels, when tax incentives were fueling the market, sales in the South at the high end of the market were sharply higher.
Sales of homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million in the southern region were up 13.4 percent from a year ago. Sales of homes priced at $1 million or more were up 7.2 percent, though those categories represent a small fraction of overall sales.
The South was the only region to post significant gains in higher-priced homes.