Distressed sales, comprised of foreclosures and short sales, in which the lender agrees to a transaction for less than the balance of the mortgage, accounted for 22 percent of the total, the lowest since at least October 2008 when record keeping began, Yun said.
Recovery 'Convincing'
"The housing-market recovery is becoming much more convincing," Yun said in the press conference. He projected that the pace of sales would reach a five-year high in 2012.
The number of previously owned homes on the market increased 2.9 percent to 2.47 million. At the current sales pace it would take 6.1 months to sell those houses, the fewest since January, compared with 6.4 months at the end of the prior month. Supply in the six-months range is "normal," the group has said.
Of all purchases, cash transactions accounted for about 27 percent, said Yun, almost three times the 10 percent this is typical. First-time buyers made up 31 percent of the total compared with the average of 40 percent to 45 percent seen in normal years, said Yun.
Sales of existing single-family homes increased 8 percent from the prior month to an annual rate of 4.3 million. Purchases of multifamily properties including condominiums and townhouses climbed 6.1 percent to a 520,000 pace.
Broad-Based Gain
Sales improved in all four regions, led by an 8.6 percent advance in the Northeast. Demand increased 8.3 percent in the West, 7.7 percent in the Midwest and 7.3 percent in the South.
Multiple measures show the housing market is healing.
Existing-home sales have improved after reaching a low of a 3.39 million annual rate in July 2010. In the buildup to the subprime lending collapse and recession, purchases reached a peak of 7.25 million in September 2005.