U.S. home sales have best winter in 5 years
Real estate signs are popping up on lawns across the nation. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that although home sales fell in February from January, the three-month winter sales season was the best in five years. This Cincinnati house came on the market in the fall. (Sept. 27, 2011) Credit: AP
U.S. home sales are gradually coming back. A mild winter and a stronger job market have helped boost sales ahead of the crucial spring buying season.
The past two months made up the best winter for sales of previously occupied homes in five years, when the housing crisis began. And the national sales pace in January was the highest since May 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit.
February sales dipped only slightly to a seasonally adjusted 4.59 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That's 13 percent higher than the sales pace last July and just below the revised 4.63 million in January.
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said the lower February numbers "should not detract from the key point, which is that sales are trending upward."
The sales pace remains far below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy markets. And the number of first-time buyers, who are critical to a housing recovery, continues to lag normal levels, while foreclosures remain high.
The median sales price of U.S. homes rose for the first time in four months in February, to $156,600. And the supply of homes on the market increased more than 4 percent in February to 2.43 million, which could signal that more homeowners became confident in the housing market. Mortgage rates are near record lows. -- AP
