US Existing home sales decently beat expectations, printing 5.2m (est. 5.0m)-the best level since Sept 2013. Details showed broad gains in both condos and single-family units.
The firm report looks to be driven by the rebound from the harsh winter that the US strategists have been looking for, and fits with their upbeat outlook for residential housing activity in the coming months. They continue to call for a strong contribution from housing to GDP in Q2.
RBC Capital Markets says the next housing indicator comes tonight where they looks for 500K new home sales in March, after a surprisingly lofty 539K print in February.
