U.S. Existing Home Sales Rebound in February
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sales remain up from September low.
- Sales patterns vary from state-to-state.
- Median sales price recovers m/m.
Existing home sales increased 4.2% (-1.2% y/y) during February to 4.26 million (SAAR) and recovered a 4.7% January decline to a little-revised 4.09 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 3.96 million unit sales. The February sales increase accompanied an easing in the effective 30-year mortgage interest rate to an average 6.84% in February from 6.96% in January. The sales figures are based on closings of sales signed over the past couple of months.
Existing single-family home sales in February rose 5.7% (-0.3% y/y) to 3.89 million units after a 5.2% decline to 3.68 million in January. Sales of condos and co-ops fell 9.8% both m/m and y/y to 370,000 following no change in January sales of 410,000.
Sales patterns varied regionally in February. Sales in the West recovered 13.3%, (unchanged y/y) to 850,000, reversing a 7.4% January decline. Sales in the South rose 4.4% (-4.0% y/y) to 1.91 million after a 6.2% January decline. Sales in the Northeast fell 2.0% (+4.2% y/y) to 500,000 following a 3.8% January decline. Sales in the Midwest were unchanged m/m (+1.0% y/y) at one million units in February where they’ve been for four straight months.
The median price averaged by all existing homes (NSA) rose 1.3% (3.8% y/y) to $398,400 in February after a 2.6% January decline. Prices remained below a high of $426,900 in June 2024. The median price of an existing single-family home rose 1.1% (3.7% y/y) to $402,500 in February and the median price of condos and co-ops increased 1.1% (3.5% y/y) to $355,100 last month. Prices fell 2.4% (+5.8% y/y) in the Midwest to $295,500. In the South, prices rose 2.2% (1.9% y/y) to $358,800. Prices in the Northeast prices declined 2.8% (+10.4% y/y) to $464,300 while in the West prices rose 0.9% (3.6% y/y) to $614,600.
The number of existing homes for sale (NSA) rose 5.1% (17.0% y/y) to 1.24 million units in February following a 3.5% January increase. The supply of homes on the market at the current selling rate (NSA) held steady at 3.5 months. A high of 4.2 months occurred in September 2024. The record low in supply of 1.6 months occurred in January 2022.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability are compiled by the National Association of Realtors. The data on single-family home sales extend back to February 1968. Total sales and price data and regional sales can be found in Haver's USECON database. Regional price and affordability data and national inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. Mortgage interest rates can be found in the WEEKLY database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, reported in the AS1REPNA database.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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