US home sales roared higher in July as rock-bottom interest rates lured buyers, the latest figures show, lifting hopes for the country's economic outlook.
New home sales leapt 6.7 per cent to a record annual rate of 1.017 million, and existing home sales surged 4.5 per cent to a rate of 5.33 million homes, seasonally adjusted figures showed.
Surging home sales, boosted by low interest rates that make borrowing cheaper, showed that consumers were still willing to make large purchases, economists said.
Consumer spending is critical to the US economic outlook, making up two-thirds of US economic output.
"Existing home sales have not quite come back to where they had been, but new home sales are as robust as they ever have been," said Naroff Economic Advisors President Mr Joel Naroff.
"People are still willing to take the gamble on a house. Especially with prices as high as they are in many places, consumers are talking with their wallets," he added.
Prices for homes eased slightly from June, the figures showed. The rise in new home sales was the steepest since February, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed, surprising economists who had been forecasting a decline.
At the July sales pace, the nation's stock of 330,000 unsold new homes would last 3.9 months, down from 4.2 months in June.
New home sales data were released by the Commerce Department. Existing home sales data were released by the National Association of Realtors.
AFP