Rise in sales points to U.S. housing bottom

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in April, a report showed on Wednesday, providing more evidence the housing market is stabilizing and backing views the recession is nearing an end.

The National Association of Realtors said sales climbed 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million as the traditional spring home-buying season swung into gear. However, the stock of unsold homes swelled 8.8 percent to 3.97 million, the highest since November.

Both the trade group and economists shrugged off the rise in home inventories as mainly the result of seasonal factors, with sellers taking advantage of spring to try and sell their properties.

"Most of the sales are taking place in lower price ranges and activity is beginning to pick-up in the mid-price ranges, but high-end home sales remain sluggish," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun told reporters.

The data appeared to have little impact on major U.S. stock indexes, which were close to flat in early afternoon, but the Dow Jones Home Construction Index rose 2.3 percent.

"This report seems to offer another piece of evidence that home sales are stabilizing," said Zach Pandl an economist at Nomura Global Economics in New York.

The data also offered a fresh hint that the 17-month U.S. economic downturn, triggered by the collapse of the housing market, was easing and could well end by the third quarter, as a National Association of Business Economists survey published on Wednesday predicted.

The pace of job losses slowed last month, claims for unemployment aid have come off their peaks and consumer confidence has risen from recent rock-bottom levels.