Existing Home Sales Jump 2.6% in June

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Sales of existing U.S. homes rose for a third straight month in June, a new report out Tuesday shows.

The National Association of Realtors says sales climbed 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million.

“I think its a good month. We’re certainly headed in the right direction. We pulled up after a pretty weak spring market and we’re anticipating a stronger second half of the year,” says Ken Fears, a senior economist at the National Association of Realtors.

In another good sign, sales are at the highest pace in eight months. But, as Fears points out, they are still down from June 2013.

“We’re still down about 2.3 percent from last year, but that year over year gap continues to contract,” he says.

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