U.S. Existing Home Sales Unexpectedly Surge 4.2% In February

(RTTNews) - After reporting a sharp pullback by U.S. existing home sales in the previous month, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Thursday showing existing home sales unexpectedly rebounded in the month of February.

NAR said existing home sales surged by 4.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.26 million in February after tumbling by 4.7 percent to a revised rate of 4.09 million in January.

The sharp increase surprised economists, who had expected existing home sales to slump by another 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 3.95 million from the 4.08 million originally reported for the previous month.

"Home buyers are slowly entering the market," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Mortgage rates have not changed much, but more inventory and choices are releasing pent-up housing demand."

The report said housing inventory at the end of February totaled 1.24 million units, up 5.1 percent from 1.18 million units in January and up 17 percent from 1.06 million units a year ago.

The unsold inventory represents 3.5 months of supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from January but up from 3.0 months in February 2024.

NAR also said the median existing home price was $398,400 in February, up 3.8 percent from $383,800 in the same month a year ago.

"Each one percentage point gain in home price translates into an approximately $350 billion increase in housing equity for American property owners," Yun said. "That means a gain of nearly $1.3 trillion in home value appreciation at a time when the current stock market is undergoing a correction."

He added, "Moreover, the ongoing housing shortage, coupled with historically low mortgage default rates, implies a solid foundation for home values."

Next Tuesday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on new home sales in the month of February.