February Existing Home Sales

February Existing Home Sales
Updated: 10-Mar-26 10:25 ETHighlights

Existing home sales increased 1.7% month-over-month in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million (Briefing.com consensus 3.88 million) from a revised 4.02 million (from 3.91 million) in January.
Sales were down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Key Factors

The median existing home sales price for all housing types increased 0.3% year-over-year to $398,000, marking the 32nd consecutive month of year-over-year increases. The median price for single family homes rose 0.2% to $401,800.
Existing home sales month-over-month/year-over-year across regions: Northeast (-6.0%/-4.1%); Midwest (+1.1%/-4.1%); South (+1.6%/+0.5%); and West (+8.2%/-1.3%).
Median home prices by region year-over-year: Northeast (+3.3% to $479,800); Midwest (+2.3% to $302,100); South (+0.2% to $356,800); and West (-1.9% to $603,100).
The inventory of homes for sale at the end of February was 1.29 million units, up 2.4% from January and up 4.9% from a year ago. Unsold inventory sits at a 3.8-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from January and up from 3.6 months a year ago. This remains below the 6.0-month supply typically associated with a more balanced market.
First-time buyers accounted for 34% of sales, up from 31% in January and a year ago.The median time on market for properties was 47 days, up from 46 in January and 42 days a year ago.
Cash sales accounted for 31% of transactions versus 27% in January and 32% a year ago.

Big Picture

The key takeaway from the report is that sales increased despite continued pressure on affordability as median prices grew for the 32nd month in a row.