Sales of previously occupied homes up in April

Americans bought more previously owned homes in April compared to April 2011, a hopeful sign that the nation’s weak housing market is gradually improving. The National Association of Realtors says home sales rose 3.4% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million. That brings home sales back near the pace set in January and February—which was the best winter for sales in five years. Still, sales are occurring well below the nearly 6 million per year that economists equate with healthy markets. A mild winter encouraged some people to buy homes earlier. That drove up sales in January and February while detracting from March activity. The median price for homes sold in April rose to $177,400, up 10.1% from a year ago. The sales pace in January was the highest since May 2010, when a popular home-buying tax credit expired. Builders are more confident and are starting to build more homes. Mortgage rates have never been cheaper. And the job market is improving, which has made more people open to buying a home. For more on the national home sales report, read the full story from The Associated Press here. In the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, home sales were up 21% in April. The average sales price, however, continued a downward year-over-year trend seen locally, decreasing about 4.3% to $188,441. Nonetheless, the increase in overall sales pushed total volume up 15.5% to $409.9 million on the month.