Existing-home sales increased 1.7% from January to February, according to the Existing-Home Sales report by the National Association of Realtors. Month-over-month sales increased in the Midwest, South and West and fell in the Northeast. Year-over-year sales rose in the South and decreased in the Northeast, Midwest and West. Total existing-home sales decreased by 1.4% year-over-year.
Affordability increased for the eighth month in a row, going from 117.1 in January to 117.6 in February, according to NAR’s Housing Affordability Index. Year-over-year affordability also increased from 103.1 in February 2025, marking the highest level since March 2022.
“Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Still, there is a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels of transaction activity. There are more than 6 million more jobs than in 2019, yet home sales per year are down by 1 million.”
“Despite the modest gain in home sales, actual housing demand remains muted relative to wage growth and job gains,” Yun added. “Wage growth is now outpacing home price growth by almost four percentage points. Mortgage rates are also measurably lower compared to a year ago.”
“Inventory is growing, but sluggishly,” he continued. “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.”
Total housing inventory is up 2.4% month-over-month and 4.9% year-over-year to 1.29 million units, according to the report. February’s median existing-home price (all housing types) is up 0.3% year-over-year at $398,000.
