US existing home sales surge 5.1% in March

Sales of existing US homes rose 5.1% in March to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.33m from a downwardly-revised 5.07m the previous month, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

The reading came in a touch higher than the 5.30m economists had been expecting.

Sales were up just 1.5% from March 2015, while the median price for a home rose 5.7% to $222,700.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales had a nice rebound in March following February's uncharacteristically large decline.

"Closings came back in force last month as a greater number of buyers – mostly in the Northeast and Midwest – overcame depressed inventory levels and steady price growth to close on a home," he said.

"Buyer demand remains sturdy in most areas this spring and the mid-priced market is doing quite well. However, sales are softer both at the very low and very high ends of the market because of supply limitations and affordability pressures.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The sharp drop in February sales always looked like a fluke perhaps triggered by the plunge in stock prices in January, so this rebound takes sales back to the underlying trend.”