Home Sales
In Millions Home sales dipped 0.9% in February to 4.59 million units, yet are 8.8% higher from a year ago. A strengthening economy is improving consumer confidence with an increasing amount of people in the market. Additionally, as the market shows signs of improvement, more people are feeling the urgency to buy while prices and interest rates are still at some of the most affordable levels in history.
Home Prices
In Thousands After slipping a bit at the beginning of the year, median home prices rose to $156,600, up 0.3% from a year ago. NAR President Moe Veissi said, “People realize that home ownership is an investment in their future. Given an apparent overcorrection [dropping prices as an overreaction to market conditions] in most areas, over the long term home prices have nowhere to go but up."
Inventory
In Months Housing inventory rose 4.3% in February to 2.43 million homes, representing a 6.4-month supply, up from 6.0 in January. There are several factors driving this increase in the inventory of homes. First, banks have settled major lawsuits regarding fraudulent foreclosure practices with state governments, which has enabled them to start moving many foreclosures off their balance sheets and into the market. Pending sales are up, and home building is starting to show signs of life again after three years of low new-housing construction.
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