The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Thursday that the U.S. existing home
sales jumped by 4.2 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.26 million
in February from an upwardly revised 4.09 million (from 4.08 million) in January.
Economists had expected
home re-sales slowing to a 3.95 million-unit pace last
month.
In y-o-y terms,
existing-home sales fell 1.2 per cent in February.
According to
the report, two out of four major
regions - the West (+13.3 per cent m-o-m) and South (+4.4 per cent
m-o-m) - posted gains in existing-home
sales on a m-o-m basis, while the Northeast (-2.0 per cent m-o-m) recorded
a decline and the Midwest registered no change.
In y-o-y terms,
sales increased in the Northeast (+4.2 per cent) and Midwest (+1.0 per cent),
reduced in the South (-4.0 per cent) and were unchanged in the West.
Over the
reviewed period, the median existing-home price for all housing types grew 3.8
per cent y-o-y to $398,400,
underpinned by increases in prices in all four U.S. regions. That
marked the 20th straight month of year-over-year advances in median existing-home
price.
Single-family
home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 3.89 million in February,
up 5.7 per cent m-o-m but up 0.3 per cent y-o-y. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded
at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 370,000 units last month, down 9.8 per cent both m-o-m and y-o-y.
Commenting on
the latest data, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that home buyers are
slowly entering the market. “Mortgage rates have not changed much, but more inventory
and choices are releasing pent-up housing demand,” he added.