U.S. existing home sales rose in February from the previous month, the strongest pace in a year, as a gradual decline in mortgage rates and more properties on the market boosted homebuyers.
Existing home sales rose 9.5% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That was the strongest sales pace since February of last year and beat the 3.93 million unit sales pace that economists had expected, according to FactSet.
Monthly sales in February increased for the second consecutive month, but decreased by 3.3% compared to the same month last year.
Due to the recovery in sales, home prices rose for eight consecutive months compared to the same month last year. The national median sales price rose 5.7% from the previous year to $384,500. This is the highest median sales price for February on record since 1999.
Although the supply of homes on the market remains below historical averages, the typical increase in homes for sale ahead of the spring home buying season means homebuyers will have a wider range of properties to choose from. I did.
As of the end of last month, there were 1.07 million unsold homes on the market, an increase of 5.9% from January and a 10.3% increase from the same month last year. This is the highest inventory of homes for sale in February since 2020, according to NAR.
Even so, the effective inventory as of the end of last month was 2.9 months’ worth based on the current sales pace. This was down from the three-month supply pace in January, but up from the 2.6-month supply pace in February last year. In a market with a balance of buyers and sellers, there is 4 to 6 months’ worth of supply.
“Additional housing supply is helping meet market demand,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
