WASHINGTON — U.S. home sales are gradually coming back. A mild winter and a stronger job market have helped boost sales ahead of the crucial spring buying season.
The past two months made up the best winter for sales of previously occupied homes in five years, when the housing crisis began. And the sales pace in January was the highest since May 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit.
February sales dipped only slightly to a seasonally adjusted 4.59 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That’s 13 percent higher than the sales pace last July and just below the revised 4.63 million in January.
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said the lower February numbers “should not detract from the key point, which is that sales are trending upward.”
Sales were 8.8 percent higher than a year ago. And the national median home price was $156,600 in February, up 0.3 percent from a year ago. Some economists say those figures point to a stabilizing housing market, especially compared with the steep price drops of last year.
“If this is a sign that those price declines are coming to an end, it’s just another piece of good news,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics.
Mortgage rates remain tantalizingly low. The national average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.89 percent in February, according to Freddie Mac.
The sales pace remains far below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy markets. And the number of first-time buyers, who are critical to a housing recovery, continues to lag normal levels, while foreclosures remain high.
Still, Summer Greene, a Realtor in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said she’s getting multiple offers for listings. That’s been rare since the housing market went bust in South Florida.
“People don’t want to wait on the sidelines anymore, and the change is very noticeable,” Greene said. “There’s definitely been a mood shift.”
There have been other signs of improvement in the depressed housing market.
Homebuilders have grown more confident in the past six months after seeing more people express interest in buying a home. In February, they requested the most permits to build homes since October 2008.
Still, economists caution that the damage from the housing bust is deep and the industry is years away from fully recovering.
The Economy Home sales warm up over winter
