U.S. home sales surged in February as mortgage rates dipped

Existing home sales jumped 14.5% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.58 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. That’s the strongest sales pace since September and it’s higher than the 4.2 million economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

The surge in sales ended a 12-month decline that led to the nation’s worst housing slump in nearly a decade as mortgage rates surged following a series of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve last year. Still, sales are down 22.6% compared with February last year. “Conscious of changing mortgage rates, home buyers are taking advantage of any rate declines,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. “Moreover, we’re seeing stronger sales gains in areas where home prices are decreasing and the local economies are adding jobs.”The inventory of homes on the market was unchanged from January but rose 15.3% from February last year. Some 980,000 homes were on the market by the end of the month. That amounts to a 2.6-month supply at the current sales pace.

The average long-term rate on a 30-year mortgage reached a two-decade high of 7.08% in the fall. Rates eased in December and January, and began creeping up in February.. A year ago, the rate averaged 4.16%. Higher rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for homebuyers, on top of already high home prices.

Source: Loan Digest (loandigest.net)

The banking crisis has brought the mortgage rates down to lower-mid 6s, which has marginally improved the housing affordability and hence the jump in home sales.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

End of Football Season Sees Michigan's February Sports Betting Handle Drop From January to FebruaryMichigan feels the effects of no NFL or college football as its sports betting handle drops by 27% from January's numbers.
Source: Covers - 🏆 341. / 59 Read more »

Lower mortgage rates boost US home sales in FebruaryU.S. existing home sales rebounded more than expected in February as lower mortgage rates and the first year-on-year decrease in prices in 11 years pulled buyers back into the market, further evidence that the housing market was stabilizing at low levels. Fake news Where? Lower rates? 😂😂😂😂
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »

US home sales surged in February as mortgage rates dippedLOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes surged in February to the fastest pace in six months as homebuyers seized on a modest drop in mortgage rates. The nation’s median price also edged lower, its first annual drop since 2012. This is true. I had several clients requesting additional copies of past tax returns to purchase a new home. Sweet, all I need now is $30,000 for a down payment. No problems there
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

Houston new vehicle sales declined in February after a strong start to 2023Fewer vehicles were sold in the Houston region in February than January. Prices declined...
Source: HoustonChron - 🏆 609. / 51 Read more »

US: Existing Home Sales rise by 14.5% in February vs. 0% expectedExisting Home Sales in the US rose by 14.5% in February to an adjusted annual rate of 4.58 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reporte eren_fxstreet Ah - the rich and their—in your face, up you Jack, and ah— what are the poor doing! eren_fxstreet I expect more development from real estate sector especially after tokenization opportunities. With BinaryxProtocol I will invest in top properties around the world with only 50$ entry threshold
Source: FXStreetNews - 🏆 14. / 72 Read more »

U.S. existing-home sales rise for the first time in 13 months, surging 14.5% in FebruaryExisting-home sales rose to a rate of 4.58 million in February, the National Association of Realtors said.
Source: MarketWatch - 🏆 3. / 97 Read more »