Existing Home Sales Grow 0.8% to 4.98M Unit Pace in February

WASHINGTON — Existing home sales rose 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted 4.98 million-unit rate in February, following a revised 4.94 million rate in January, the National Association of Realtors announced Thursday.

The January sales rate was originally reported as a 4.92 million pace.

The sales pace nearly matched the estimate of economists polled by Thomson Reuters. They predicted a 5.000 million rate for February.

The rate is a 10.2% increase from February 2012. The sales rate has now been above the previous year levels for 20 consecutive months, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.

The regional sales data showed mixed results. Sales fell 3.1% in the Northeast and 1.7% in the Midwest, but rose 2.6% in both the South and the West.

The median sales price stood at $173,600, a 1.8% jump from the previous month and an 11.6% gain from a year ago.

Although Yun said the large price increase is not good news for buyers, the increase in housing wealth could prove a boon for the national economy.

"A strong rise in home values is contributing to housing wealth recovery, which has risen by $1.4 trillion in the past year and looks to top that increase this year," he said. "The extra consumer spending arising from growth in housing wealth is expected to be $70 billion to $110 billion this year."

Housing inventory levels rose 10% from the previous month to 1.94 million existing homes, representing a 4.7-month supply at the current pace. Inventory was down 19% from the February 2012 level, when it was a 6.4-month supply.

Yun said inventory data was probably the most closely watched factor because it continues to restrict the pace of home sales in some areas, particularly in the Phoenix, Ariz., area and southeast California.

"It's the West region that continues to show weakness," Yun said. "Lower inventory is restricting sales."

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