Home Sales Pick Up—at a Halting Pace

摘要

Here's a strange situation. The housing market is finally showing signs of life, usually a good indicator of a robust recovery. Yet the market is so fragile that no one's proclaiming the return of a powerhouse property sector. First, the evidence of a turnaround: The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities rose 0.6% in February from a year earlier, the first annual gain since December 2006. A homebuyer tax credit, set to expire Apr. 30, has helped. So has an abundance of inexpensive homes. And the Federal Reserve's recent purchases of mortgage-backed securities pushed the cost of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to a new low.