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Rise in February Home Resales Suggests Stabilizing Market
Following five months on a slow downward trend, existing home sales in February climbed 5.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.91 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors®, leaving them 0.3% below their 6.93 million pace of a year earlier.
Unseasonably mild weather conditions in January were likely a factor behind higher levels of home buying activity, according to David Lereah, the association’s chief economist.
“Higher interest rates had been tapping the breaks,” he added, “notably in higher-cost housing markets since mortgage interest rates trended up last fall, but we’re seeing signs of stabilization in the market now with the sales rebound. Home sales should level out in the months ahead.”
The median existing-home price — including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — was $209,000 in February, up 10.6% from a year earlier. However, condominiums sold for a median price of $214,300, up only 3.5% from February of 2005.
“We’re still seeing double-digit annual price gains,” said NAR President Thomas Stevens, “but we should get down to single-digit appreciation fairly soon.”
Housing inventory levels were virtually unchanged in February from the prior month, with a 5.3-month supply at the current sales pace.
Regionally, existing sales were up 19.2% in the Northeast, 11.1% in the Midwest and 5.1% in the West. They were down 2.5% in the South.
 Where Are the Top 100 Metropolitan Areas for 2006?
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 Attend the Spring Construction Forecast Conference in April
Plan to attend NAHB's Construction Forecast Conference on April 27 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. The conference brings together the nation's premier housing economists and finance experts for an in-depth examination of the economic outlook for the housing industry.
For more information, visit www.nahb.org/cfc.
Give Us Your Perspective on the NAHB Economics Blog
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