Existing U.S. Home Sales Climb to 5.35 Million Rate

From Bloomberg.com:

Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. rose in March for the first time in four months as buyers took advantage of a government tax credit and the weather improved.

Purchases climbed 6.8 percent to a 5.35 million annual rate, more than anticipated, from a 5.01 million pace in February, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median prices climbed 0.4 percent from March 2009.

The thawing out from February’s blizzards probably helped the market last month, while the Obama administration’s credit worth up to $8,000 may keep underpinning demand through June, when it’s next due to lapse. The outlook for the second half of the year depends on the speed and magnitude of the recovery in the job market, indicating the housing rebound may be slow to develop.

“You have some fundamental improvement in housing,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. Inc. in Pittsburgh. “Housing is coming back. It’s still got a long way to go.”

Existing home sales were forecast to rise to a 5.29 million annual rate, according to the median estimate of 76, economists in a Bloomberg News survey, from a previously reported 5.02 million rate in February. Projections ranged from 5.05 million to 5.5 million.

Bankruptcy Filings Up 35 Percent In Past Year: Court

According to data compiled through US courts, bankruptcy filings in the U.S. have gone up a staggering 35% over the last year. Last year there were about 968,000 people who filed for Bankruptcy, compared to over 1.3 million in just the past 11 months.

Business bankruptcies, like the high-profile collapse of General Motors Co. GM.UL and Chrysler LLC, totaled 55,000, while non-business filings totaled 1.25 million, the courts office said.

Filings increased among all types of bankruptcies.

Chapter 7 filings, which require debtors to sell their nonexempt property, rose 47 percent to 908,000.

Chapter 13 filings, which enable wage earners to come up with a plan to repay debtors, rose 12 percent to 384,000.

Chapter 11 filings, used to reorganize bankrupt businesses, rose 91 percent to 14,000.

Chapter 12 filings, used by farmers or fishermen, rose 34 percent to 422.

Continued at Reuters.com…