US existing-homes sales (EHS) surged 11.8% in February versus January, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.51M units, though the year-over-year pace was still off by 1.8%. Median transaction prices continue to rise, up 3.6% over February 2018.
The increase in U.S. existing homes marks the 84th consecutive month of year-over-year gains. The median home transaction rose to $249,500.
Market inventory inched forward, still at a slow crawl. The 3.5-month supply of housing inventory is a far cry from the 6-month standard for a balanced housing market, though this is a year-over-year improvement from February 2018’s 3.4-month supply.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, cited the ups and downs encountered with the tight market.
“It is very welcoming to see more inventory showing up in the market. Consumer foot traffic consequently is rising as measured by the opening rate of SentriLock key boxes. For sustained growth, significant construction of moderately priced-homes is still needed. More construction will help boost local economies and more home sales will help lessen wealth inequality as more households can enjoy in housing wealth gains.”
A couple other key points from NAR’s recap for February: “Properties remained on the market for an average of 44 days in February, down from 49 days in January but up from 37 days a year ago. Forty-one percent of homes sold in February were on the market for less than a month.”
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Existing-Home Sales Surge 11.8 Percent in February | www.nar.realtor