U.S. home sales rise in October but remain weak

The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes rose slightly last month, but remained at depressed levels. More deals are being canceled at the last minute, a sign that even those who are looking to buy are worried about the housing market. Home sales rose 1.4% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million, the National Association of Realtors reported this morning. That’s below the 6 million that economists say is consistent with a healthy housing market, yet slightly ahead of last year’s sales—the worst in 13 years. The sales are measured when buyers close on the homes. Many deals are falling apart before that point. One-third of Realtors say they’ve had at least one contract scuttled in October, up from 18% in September. Sales have fallen in four of the five years since the housing boom went bust in 2006. Declining prices and record-low mortgage rates haven’t been enough to boost sales. Most economists say home prices will keep falling, by at least 5%, through the rest of the year. Many forecasts don’t anticipate a rebound in prices until at least 2013. Louisiana’s residential real estate market, however, showed a significant increase in sales activity during the third quarter, with sales up 20.2% over the same quarter of 2010. The increase was led by the Greater Baton Rouge area, which posted a 13.9% rise in sales. In October, the Baton Rouge market also saw sales rise 10.3% over the same month last year.