Sales of previously owned homes plunged 7.2% month to month in February to a seasonally adjusted annualized pace of 6.02 million in units.
- That figure missed the analysts’ estimate of 6.13 million units. Sales were 2.4% lower compared to the same month, a year earlier. Rising mortgage rates played a significant role in the lower-than-expected figures.
- The sales figure is based on closings, which signal that the homes were likely under sales contract in December and January.
- Meanwhile, the rate started to rise steadily in January, hitting 3.68% by the close of the month. The rate is now higher at 4.5%.
- Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors stated that it will be very interesting to see what happens in the upcoming months as mortgage rates make a meaningful jump.
Tight supply and strong demand continued to push prices higher. The median price for an existing home sold in February was $357,000, an increase of 15% from a year earlier.
DXY up +0.39%, EUR USD down -0.53%
Source: National Association of Realtors.
