Existing Home Sales Hit All-Time Record

- Existing Home Sales for April rose to 7.18M versus estimates of 6.9M and 6.87M in March.

BOTTOM LINE: US sales of previously owned homes rose 4.5% in April to 7.18M units at an annual rate, an all-time record. Employment gains and 30-year mortgage rates of less than 6% are fueling demand. During the last five years, the median sales price of an existing single family home rose at an 8.1% rate. I continue to believe there is not a nation-wide bubble in housing, notwithstanding the attempts by many to suggest otherwise. I expect homebuilders to outperform through at least year-end.