Home sales jump by 6.1 percent in October

WASHINGTON -- Sales of previously owned homes registered their third-best month on record in October and are on track for an all-time high this year, as the beacon of low mortgage rates turns house hunters into home buyers.

The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that existing-home sales climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million in October, representing a 6.1 percent jump from the previous month.

October's performance, which followed a 2.6 percent advance in sales in September, exceeded analysts' expectations. They were forecasting a small dip in last month's sales.

Housing has been a pillar supporting the economy this year as it struggled to get back to full health after being knocked down by last year's recession.

"With mortgage rates dropping to more than 30-year lows, people are viewing this as a home-buying bonanza, " said Stuart Hoffman, economist at PNC Financial Services Group. "This makes the housing market one of the brightest spots in an otherwise dull economy."

The uneven economic recovery is a source of apprehension for the Federal Reserve and President Bush, whose economics team is pondering what more can be done to help the economy.

"The economy is growing in fits and spurts, not as fast as the president would like it to," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "I won't preface or guess what the president is going to propose, if he might propose anything on this."