Existing home sales fall 1.5 percent in May - Reuters
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Home resales fell in May and the median sales price rose only because of a drop in sale of lower priced homes, casting a shadow on the country's nascent housing market recovery.
The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales slipped 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.55 million units last month. That was in line with analysts' expectations.
Nationwide, the median price for a home resale rose to $182,600 in May, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier and the highest since June 2010.
"I would attribute this primarily to the shortage of inventories on the lower priced homes," Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, told reporters.
Yun said sales of homes costing at least $250,000 were up more than 20 percent from a year earlier, but that sales declined for homes priced under $100,000.
While the broader U.S. economy appears to be losing steam, housing has gained traction and has become a relative bright spot.
Despite a sharp slowdown in hiring across the country, home prices appear to be stabilizing and home builder sentiment has risen to a five-year high. Groundbreaking at building sites for new homes has held above a 700,000-unit annual rate for the last five months, a first since 2008.
There were also positive signs within the NAR report on Thursday. Distressed sales, which include those due to foreclosure, accounted for 25 percent of resales. That was the lowest level since the NAR started keeping track in 2008.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales at a 4.57 million-unit sales pace last month.
Inventories slipped to 2.49 million, which represents a 6.6 month supply at the current sales pace.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
Dizzee Rascal says new album has a 'filthy' track on it - BBC News
Dizzee Rascal is opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers this weekend
Dizzee Rascal has revealed a track on his forthcoming album is "filthy" and will "cause offence".
The grime artist has been working in LA on his still untitled fifth studio album and follow-up to Tongue N' Cheek in 2009.
One of the tracks recorded is with Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden.
Dizzee promises it is a "stand out track" and something fans haven't heard before.
"I can't say too much. But I will tell you something, it will offend some people," the rapper said.
"It will also make some people laugh and make them want to party and whatever, but it is filthy."
AwardsThe 27-year-old was speaking after being honoured by the Official Charts Company at UK Music's summer reception.
He became the first male artist to be presented with all five of his official number one awards, which were between 2008 and 2010.
Kylie Minogue was the first female artist to be honoured in the same way when she picked up a collection of her seven number one awards a couple of weeks ago.
When asked if making it to number one was still a priority, the rapper replied: "I hope for top five at this point.
"At worst case you just hope for something that smashes live shows because that's the main thing I like to do - make music that people can go mental to."
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