MNI: US Feb Existing Home Sales See Huge Rebound

U.S. existing home sales saw one of the largest increases on record in February as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Sales jumped 14.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.58 million, but are down 22.6% from a year ago.

February saw the largest percentage increase since July 2020 and much higher than market expectations for a 4.19 million pace. Single-family home sales, which rose 15.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million, saw their largest monthly increase on record, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. The median existing-home sales price decreased 0.2% from the previous year to USD363,000 and Yun said the median home price may fall a total of 2% this year.

"The consumer is very finicky and constantly on the lookout for new listings," Yun said on a media call. Inventory remains low but as soon as mortgage rates fall, "they're ready to strike." Now that mortgage rates have fallen again after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, home sales will likely jump again, he added.