The National Association of Realtors announced that February's existing-home sales, the highest since November 2009, affirm a healthy recovery in the housing sector. The association reported that sales have been above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months.
Total existing-home sales rose to an adjusted rate of 4.98 million in February, 0.8 percent above January and 10.2 percent over February 2012.
The median home price for all housing types was $173,600 in February, 11.6 percent above February 2012-the strongest gain since November 2005. The market has not seen 12 consecutive months of year-over-year home price increases since May 2006.
"Job growth in the improving economy and pent-up demand are causing both home sales and rental leasing to rise. Though home prices are rising much faster than rents, historically low mortgage rates are still making home purchases affordable," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "The only headwinds are limited housing inventory, which varies greatly around the country, and credit conditions that remain too restrictive."
Those headwinds, however, are also dying down a bit: Total housing inventory rose 9.6 percent at the end of February to 1.94 million existing homes for sale. This represents a 4.7-month supply, 19.2 percent below the supply in February 2012.
