A real estate sign is posted outside of a recently sold home, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Valrico, Fla. On Tuesday, (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Sales of previously owned homes surged 14.5 percent in February, ending a 12-month streak of steady declines, according to the National Association of Realtors.
While sales were still down 22.6 percent from the year before, the upswing signaled that the housing market is regaining strength, as Homebuyers appear to be responding to lower prices and slowing rate hikes.
"Conscious of changing mortgage rates, home buyers are taking advantage of any rate declines," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Moreover, we're seeing stronger sales gains in areas where home prices are decreasing and the local economies are adding jobs."
The national median existing-home price, meanwhile, dropped 0.2 percent in February. That is down 12.3 percent from a peak in June and the first year-over-year decline since February, 2021.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate also moderated in February, giving buyers a break from the economic tightening kicked off by the Federal Reserve last year. The rate slipped again last week to 6.60 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
As for the supply side of the equation, housing inventory didn't budge between January and February, sticking around 980,000 units, but it's still up 15.3 percent from one year ago.
"Inventory levels are still at historic lows," Yun said. "Consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties."
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
