Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly rose in August to the highest level in more than six years as buyers rushed to lock in interest rates before they rise further.
Purchases climbed 1.7 percent to a 5.48 million annual rate, the highest since February 2007, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed in a Thursday report.
The median forecast of 79 economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a drop to 5.25 million.
The median sales price jumped by the most since October 2005, reflecting tight inventory, the group said.
The data contain some transactions begun a month or two earlier, when buyers were trying to get loans when mortgage rates were near record lows. The group’s chief economist said the surge in August was probably the “last hurrah” for the next 12 to 18 months as the jump in borrowing costs and prices hurts affordability.
“Housing will continue to improve, though the remarkable pace of improvement we saw in recent months isn’t going to persist,” said Tom Simons, an economist at Jefferies LLC in New York, before the report was released. “The impact that higher mortgage rates are likely to have is like taking the foot off the accelerator.”
Economists estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 4.95 million to 5.41 million. The prior month’s pace was unrevised from the 5.39 million previously reported.
The median price of an existing home increased 14.7 percent from a year ago to $212,100, the report showed. That was the biggest gain since October 2005.