WASHINGTON — The pace of existing home sales jumped by 11.8% to a 5.51 million annual rate in February, well above the 5.10 million rate expected by both the Bloomberg consensus and an MNI survey of analysts, a recovery after three straight declines.
The following are the other key points from the February existing home sales data released Friday by the National Association of Realtors:
- January home sales were revised down slightly to a 4.93 million pace from the 4.94 million rate previously reported. The first quarter average pace of sales at 5.22 million stands above the 5.14 million average for the fourth quarter after revisions are included.
- February resales in Northeast unchanged, Midwest up 9.5%, South rose14.9%, and West gained 16.0%.
- February home supply rose 2.5% to 1.63 million, a 3.2% gain year/year, but the strong sales pace pulled down the months supply to 3.5 months from 3.9 months in January. There was a 3.4 months supply a year ago.
- NAR's Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that lower interest rates, more inventories, and stronger wage growth are keys to this month's gain. The 11.8% jump is the largest since December 2015 and well outside of the normal range of monthly gains.
- National median sales price +3.6% y/y to $249,500 in February.
