Home sales slip slightly in February but up almost 9 percent from a year ago; home prices increase slightly

dennis-norman-st-louis-realtor-existing-home-salesToday’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in February were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.59 million units which is a decrease of 0.8 percent from the month before and an increase of 8.8 percent from a year ago. The actual number of homes sold in February was 286,000 which is an increase of 10.0 percent from the month before and an increase of 13.0 percent from a year ago when there were 253,000 homes sold.

Home prices increase for first time since November 2011….

The median home price in the U.S. in February was $156,600, an increase of 1.2 percent from the month before and an increase of 0.3 percent from a year ago when the median price was $156,100.

Supply and Inventory of Homes for sale increase from month before….

The number of existing homes on the market increased in February by 4.3 percent from the previous month to 2.43 million homes, but decreased 19.3 percent from a year ago when there were 3.01 million homes for sale. The months supply of homes on the market increased by 6.7 percent to 6.4 months from the month before but decreased 25.6 percent from a year ago when the supply was 8.6 months.

The following are the ACTUAL Existing Home sales for February, 2012 reported by NAR without any adjustment or fluff:

  • There were 286,000 existing homes sold during the month which is an increase of 10.0 percent from the month before and an increase of 13.0 percent from a year ago.
  • Below are highlights from each region for the month;
    • Northeast – 37,000 homes sold, an increase of 23.3 percent from the prior month and an increase of 8.8 percent from the year before.
    • Midwest – 64,000 homes sold, an increase of 20.8 percent from the prior month and an increase of 18.5 percent from the year before.
    • South – 112,000 homes sold, an increase of 10.9 percent from the prior month and an increase of 13.1 percent from the year before.
    • West – 73,000 homes sold, a decrease of 3.9 percent from the prior month and an increase of 10.6 percent from the year before.

Other highlights of the NAR Report for February 2012:

  • Distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) accounted for 34 percent of all home sales for the month (20 percent were foreclosures and 14 percent short sales), down from 35 percent the month before.
  • First-Time homebuyers accounted for 32 percent of the home sales for the month, down from 33 percent the month before.
  • Investors were the buyers of 23 percent of the homes for the month, same as the month before.
  • Repeat home buyers were responsible for approximately 45 percent of the month’s sales.
  • Cash buyers were 33 percent of all sales for the month, up from 31 percent the month before.

 

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