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"The housing market is stabilizing"
- Sal Guatieri, a senior U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets
U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly rose 1.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.97 million in October from 4.9 million in September, said the National Association of Realtors on Monday.
"The housing market is stabilizing, but it has a long road to a full recovery," said Sal Guatieri, a senior U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.
"There are still a lot of depressed properties in the pipeline that will hit the market, and demand likely needs to strengthen above a 5 million annual rate to absorb the overhang of unsold homes and alleviate the downward pressure on prices."