Market Report - February 2024
U.S. existing-home sales grew 3.1% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the strongest sales pace since August 2023, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Falling interest rates late last year, coupled with a recent uptick in inventory, helped existing-home sales to climb following last month’s decline, with monthly gains reported in the Midwest, South, and West regions.
New Listings were up 30.4 percent to 627. Pending Sales increased 9.0 percent to 520. Inventory grew 41.7 percent to 1,353 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 11.1 percent to $524,500. Days on Market increased 1.9 percent to 163 days. Months Supply of Inventory was up 55.0 percent to 3.1 months.
Total inventory heading into February stood at 1.01 million units, a 2% increase from the previous month and a 3.1% increase from the same time last year, for a 3 months’ supply at the current sales pace, according to NAR. Although buyers may find additional options in their home search, inventory remains below the 5-6 months’ supply of a balanced market, and demand is exceeding supply. As a result, existing-home sales prices have continued to rise, climbing 5.1% year-over-year to $379,100.