It may be the shortest month of the year, but February had tons of residential sales activity across the U.S. According to the National Association of Realtors, total existing-home sales jumped 9.5 percent from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million in February—the largest monthly increase in a year.
Year-over-year, sales slid 3.3 percent (down from 4.53 million in February 2023).
“Additional housing supply is helping to satisfy market demand,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Housing demand has been on a steady rise due to population and job growth, though the actual timing of purchases will be determined by prevailing mortgage rates and wider inventory choices.”
The median existing-home price3 for all housing types in February was $384,500, an increase of 5.7 percent from the prior year. All four U.S. regions posted price increases.
Total housing inventory registered at the end of February was 1.07 million units, up 5.9 percent from January.