New home sales in the US unexpectedly increased in April after plunging a month earlier, suggesting the housing market is starting to stabilise.
Purchases of single-family houses climbed 0.6 per cent from March to 623,000 at an annualised pace, government data showed Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists forecast a drop to a rate of 480,000 sales. The median sale price fell 8.6 per cent year-on-year to $309,900.
Even with the gain, sales are unlikely to rebound to pre-coronavirus levels, said Alex Barron, an analyst with the Housing Research Centre in El Paso, Texas.
“We’re still trying to understand what is the new normal,” Mr Barron said. “Is it sales down 20 per cent from the 2019 level or down 40 per cent?”
Mortgage rates near all-time lows may be starting to put a floor under the housing market, helping to explain a recent increase in sentiment among housebuilders. At the same time, soaring unemployment and tighter credit standards may limit the strength of the recovery in housing.
Three out of four US regions reported stronger home sales in April than a month earlier, reflecting 2.4 per cent gains in the South and Midwest, the US Commerce Department’s report showed. Purchases climbed 8.7 per cent in the Northeast and dropped 6.3 per cent in the West.
The government’s data measures signed contracts to buy houses.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
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Favourite place to visit: London
