Last month's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 4.6 million, down 0.4% from the previous month, the National Association of Realtors said. January's sales rate was down 5.1% from December.
Cold weather, limited supplies of homes on the market and higher interest rates than a year ago have held back the real estate market over the fall and winter months.
The sales rate has been trending lower since last July, when it peaked for last year at 5.38 million.
Sales of single-family homes also are lower. Last month, they fell 0.2% from January's level and 6.9% from a year ago.
The harsh winter's impact showed in last month's sales by region. The annualized rate of sales fell 11.3% in the Northeast and 3.8% in the Midwest, but rose 5.9% in the West and 1.5% in the South.
NAR said higher prices and restrictive mortgage lending standards are also affecting the sales. Many first-time buyers have been priced out of the market. They accounted for 28% of February's sales, down from 30% a year ago, 32% in 2012 and 34% in 2011.
"Some transactions are simply being delayed, so there should be some improvement in the months ahead. With an expected pickup in job creation, home sales should trend up modestly over the course of the year," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
Tight supplies of homes for sale are contributing to higher prices and quicker decisions by buyers. The median existing-home price in February was $189,000 — 9.1% above February 2013, NAR said. Thirty-four percent of the homes sold last month were on the market for less than a month compared with 31% in January.
The supply of existing homes for sale improved in February but remained low. At 2 million homes, that represents a 5.2 month supply at last month's sales pace, up from 4.9 months in January. A six-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
NAR's existing-home ! sales figures include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.
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