Keller Williams Realty - North Atlanta

Sales of existing homes shot upward in September, as buyers took advantage of price reductions, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Sales of existing homes rose 5.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units, and up from 4.91 million units in August. September 2008 sales figures are 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million units sold in September 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more markets are seeing year-over-year gains. “The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island,” he said.

Also encouraging are the recent declines in inventory. Total housing inventory at the end of September fell 1.6 percent to 4.27 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.9-month supply at the current sales pace. This is a decrease from a 10.6-month supply in August, and marks two consecutive monthly declines since inventories peaked in July of 2008.