The latest figures from the National Association of Realtors show that existing home sales were strong in September, which means that conditions have improved for five of the past six months. Last month, sales were up 9.4 percent from the level recorded in August, and also 9.2 percent higher than the figures recorded in September 2008.

“We’re getting early indications of price stabilization, but we need a steady supply of qualified buyers to meaningfully bring inventories down and return us to a period of normal, steady price growth and to fully remove consumer fears, which would then revive the broader economy,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Home buyers returning to the real estate market

U.S. home sales rise 9.4 percent in September

Sales jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.1 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

That pace was the strongest in two years and beat Wall Street forecasts. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual rate of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

“There’s a mini-boom going on in the housing market,” said Thomas Popik, who conducts a monthly survey of real estate agents for Campbell Communications, a research firm.

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