ISTANBUL

Existing home sales in the US rose in February, exceeding expectations, according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Existing home sales climbed 1.7% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units.

Market expectations had pointed to sales of around 3.89 million units.

The increase followed a 5.9% fall in January, when sales came in at 4.02 million units.

On a yearly basis, existing home sales in February were down 1.4%.

The median price of existing homes rose 0.3% year-on-year to $398,000.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said improving housing affordability has begun to encourage buyers to return to the market.

He noted, however, that sales remain well below pre-pandemic levels, pointing out that despite the creation of more than 6 million new jobs since 2019, annual home sales are still about 1 million units lower than that year.

Yun added that despite the modest increase in sales, underlying housing demand remains relatively weak compared to gains in wages and employment.

Mortgage rates are lower than last year and housing inventory has increased, though the pace of supply growth remains slow, he said.

“If demand picks up notably in the coming months and outpaces supply growth, home prices will inevitably rise. That is why increasing supply is so important to help limit home price growth, improve housing affordability, and boost transactions," Yun added.