The number of homes sold across the United States rose in February from a month earlier amid an improvement in housing inventory, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Total existing-home sales rose by 4.2 percent from January to hit 4.26 million units in February on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, NAR said in a March 20 statement. Sales include completed transactions of single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, and co-ops.
At the end of February, total housing inventory was at 1.24 million units, up 5.1 percent from a month back. At the current pace of sales, this is worth 3.5 months of supply.
“Home buyers are slowly entering the market,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage rates have not changed much, but more inventory and choices are releasing pent-up housing demand.”…