by Dismal-Jellyfish

Source: www.newyorkfed.org/research/home-price-index

What did the housing data say in February?

From the National Association of Realtors:

• The median existing-home sales price decreased 0.2% from the previous year to $363,000.
• Existing-home sales jumped 14.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.58 million, snapping a 12-month slide and representing the largest monthly percentage increase since July 2020 (+22.4%). Compared to one year ago, however, sales retreated 22.6%.
• The inventory of unsold existing homes was unchanged from the prior month at 980,000 at the end of February, or the equivalent of 2.6 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace.
  • down 10.3% from January but up from 1.7 months in February 2022.
• The median existing-home price3 for all housing types in February was $363,000, a decline of 0.2% from February 2022 ($363,700), as prices climbed in the Midwest and South yet waned in the Northeast and West.
  • This ends a streak of 131 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest on record.
• Properties typically remained on the market for 34 days in February, up from 33 days in January and 18 days in February 2022.
  • Fifty-seven percent of homes sold in February were on the market for less than a month.
• First-time buyers were responsible for 27% of sales in February, down from 31% in January and 29% in February 2022.
  • NAR’s 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – released in November 2022 – found that the annual share of first-time buyers was 26%, the lowest since NAR began tracking the data.
• All-cash sales accounted for 28% of transactions in February, down from 29% in January but up from 25% in February 2022.
• Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 18% of homes in February, up from 16% in January but down from 19% in February 2022.
• Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented 2% of sales in February, nearly identical to last month and one year ago.
• According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.60% as of March 16. That’s down from 6.73% from the previous week but up from 4.16% one year ago.
• Single-family home sales soared to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million in February, up 15.3% from 3.59 million in January but down 21.4% from the previous year.
  • The median existing single-family home price was $367,500 in February, down 0.7% from February 2022.
• Existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 units in February, up from 410,000 in January but down 32.3% from one year ago.
  • The median existing condo price was $321,000 in February, an annual increase of 2.5%.