US existing home sales beat expectations in February

Sales of existing homes successful the United States roseate 4.2 percent successful February to an yearly complaint of 4.26 million, said the National Association of Realtors. Photo: Robyn BECK / AFP/File
Source: AFP

Sales of antecedently owned homes successful the United States topped analysts' expectations successful February, arsenic expanding inventory allowed much buyers to participate the spot market, according to industry information released Thursday.

Existing location income jumped 4.2 percent past period to an yearly complaint of 4.26 million, seasonally adjusted, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

This was solidly supra a 3.95 cardinal prediction by a statement forecast of analysts, according to Briefing.com.

"Home buyers are dilatory entering the market," said NAR main economist Lawrence Yun.

"Mortgage rates person not changed much, but much inventory and choices are releasing pent-up lodging demand," helium added successful a statement.

The US lodging marketplace has been weighed down by elevated involvement rates, arsenic the Federal Reserve kept the benchmark lending complaint precocious successful caller years to tamp down stubborn inflation.

With owe rates inactive importantly higher than earlier adjacent arsenic the Fed cautiously started lowering rates, existent homeowners who person locked successful little rates person been reluctant to participate the market.

Compared with a twelvemonth ago, existing location income were inactive 1.2 percent down.

The median terms of existing homes was $398,400 past month, up 3.8 percent from 1 twelvemonth ago. This was besides up from the level successful January.

All 4 large US regions logged terms increases.

The fashionable 30-year fixed-rate owe averaged astir 6.8 percent arsenic of February 27, conscionable somewhat little than 6.9 percent arsenic of February 29, 2024.

Among idiosyncratic markets, Yun of the NAR said the radical volition intimately show the country surrounding US superior Washington, connected expectations that authoritative information volition apt amusement much national occupation losses successful upcoming months.

"We volition spot whether oregon not the occupation cuts successful DC (the District of Columbia) statesman to alteration immoderate of the dynamics successful the DC lodging market," helium told reporters.

He was referring to moves spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been moving to dramatically trim the size of the authorities nether President Donald Trump.

Yun added that demands for federal government employees to instrumentality to enactment could besides statesman to summation lodging request successful the interior suburbs oregon successful Washington itself.

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Source: AFP