Existing-home sales surge ahead
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing-home sales jumped by 9.5% in February.
February’s total existing-home sales moved ahead to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.38 million. Year-over-year sales are down 3.3% compared to a rate of 4.53 million in February 2023.
The report includes completed single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops transactions.
Single-family home sales grew to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.97 million in February, up 10.3% from 3.6 million in January but down 2.7% from the previous year.
“Additional housing supply is helping to satisfy market demand,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Housing demand has been on a steady rise due to population and job growth, though the actual timing of purchases will be determined by prevailing mortgage rates and wider inventory choices.”
Total housing inventory at the end of February was 1.07 million units, up 5.9% from January and 10.3% from one year ago (970,000). Unsold inventory sits at a 2.9-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 3.0 months in January but up from 2.6 months in February 2023.
Prices are the rise too.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in February was $384,500, an increase of 5.7% from the prior year ($363,600). All four U.S. regions posted price increases.
The median existing single-family home price was $388,700 in February, up 5.6% from February 2023.
Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.74% as of March 14. That’s down from 6.88% the prior week but up from 6.60% one year ago.
Properties typically remained on the market for 38 days in February, up from 36 days in January and 34 days in February 2023, the NAR said.
The latest news on existing-home sales follows positive news delivered in the latest Monthly Residential Construction Report, released on March 19 by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Total housing starts in February climbed 10.7% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.521 million from the revised January estimate of 1.374 million.
The latest is also 5.9% above the February 2023 rate of 1.463 million.
February’s single-family starts jumped ahead by 11.6% to a rate of 1.129 million.
Here’s how February 2024 existing-home sales performed on a regional basis:
- At 480,000 units, existing-home sales in the Northeast were identical to January but down 7.7% from February 2023. It’s the fourth consecutive month that home sales in the Northeast registered 480,000 units. The median price in the Northeast was $420,600, up 11.5% from one year ago.
- In the Midwest, existing-home sales climbed 8.4% from one month ago to an annual rate of 1.03 million in February, down 3.7% from the previous year. The median price in the Midwest was $277,600, up 6.8% from February 2023.
- Existing-home sales in the South increased by 9.8% from January to an annual rate of 2.02 million in February, down 2.9% from one year earlier. The median price in the South was $354,200, up 4.1% from last year.
- In the West, existing-home sales jumped ahead by 16.4% from a month ago to an annual rate of 850,000 in February, a decline of 1.2% from the prior year. The median price in the West was $593,000, up 9.1% from February 2023.
“Due to inventory constraints, the Northeast was the regional underperformer in February home sales but the best performer in home prices,” Yun added. “More supply is clearly needed to help stabilize home prices and get more Americans moving to their next residences.”
