Healthy home sales.

• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS - Brief article

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Summer is the busiest time for U.S. home sales, and sellers are expecting an especially brisk season this year. The economy is emerging from the Great Recession, pent-up demand is driving strong sales in several markets, and consumer confidence shows steady improvement.

40%

Share of people who say it's a good time to sell a house, compared to 16 percent in May 2012

$271,600

Median price of a new home in April

10.9%

Rise in U.S. home prices in March over a year ago, the most since April 2006

35.4%

Percentage of U.S. households that rent, up from 34.2 percent in 2009

7.4%

U.S. rental vacancy rate in 2011, down from 8.4 percent in 2009

6%

Share of U.S. "new" houses built after 2004

19.3%

Share of houses built before 1950

39

Number of metro areas where more than 10 percent of...