Steel Markets

Existing-Home Sales Rebound in February

March 23, 2018

Existing-home sales rebounded in February after two months of declines, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Total existing-home sales jumped 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million. Sales were 1.1 percent higher than a year ago.

The median price for all housing types was $247,700, a 5.9 increase from February 2017 and the 72nd consecutive month of growth.

Total housing inventory rose 4.6 percent to 1.59 million homes for sale, a 3.4-month supply at the current sales pace.

“A big jump in existing sales in the South and West last month helped the housing market recover from a two-month sales slump,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The very healthy U.S. economy and labor market are creating a sizeable interest in buying a home in early 2018. However, even as seasonal inventory gains helped boost sales last month, home prices – especially in the West – shot up considerably. Affordability continues to be a pressing issue because new and existing housing supply is still severely subpar.”

Regionally, sales fell 12.3 percent in the Northeast and 2.4. percent in the Midwest. Home sales surged 11.4 percent in the West and 6.6 percent in the South. Median home price grew across all four regions.