US existing home sales unexpectedly rise in February

(Sharecast News) - US existing home sales rose 1.7% in February to an annualised 4.09m, accordingt to the National Association of Realtors, defying expectations for a drop to 3.89m. Unsold inventory increased 2.4% to 1.29m homes, equivalent to 3.8 months of supply at the current sales pace, while the median price of an existing home edged 0.3% higher year‑on‑year to $398,000, despite lower mortgage rates over the period.

"Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding," said NAR chief economis Lawrence Yun. "Still, there is a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels of transaction activity. There are more than 6 million more jobs than in 2019, yet home sales per year are down by one million. Despite the modest gain in home sales, actual housing demand remains muted relative to wage growth and job gains."





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com