WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose in September at the slowest pace in more than two years, reflecting modest sales gains and a rising number of available homes. Investors helped drive the strong gains by bidding up prices but have started to cut back on their purchases. After the roller-coaster of collapsing home prices during the housing bust, followed by big increases in 2012 and 2013, many economists have welcomed the modest gains this year. Home sales jumped 21.2 percent in Miami last month, according to Redfin, a real estate brokerage, the strongest increase among the 39 markets it tracks. The Fed’s bond purchases were intended to keep interest rates low, leading many economists to forecast that mortgage rates would rise once the purchases ended. Nationwide, sales of existing homes rose in October to their fastest pace this year, evidence that the housing market is rebounding from a slowdown last spring.
Source: www.timesunion.com
