Existing home sales increase

Sales of existing homes increased by 2.9% in February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.03 million units, following six consecutive monthly declines, according to the according to the National Association of Realtors. That follows a pace of 4.89 million homes purchased in January, but remains 23.8% below the 6.6 million-unit level in February 2007. "We're not expecting a notable gain in existing-home sales until the second half of this year, but the improvement is another sign that the market is stabilizing," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, according to a statement. The median existing home price for all housing types was $195,900 in February, down 8.2%, from $213,500 in the year-ago period, marking the largest drop on record. Home inventories fell 3% at the end of February to 4.03 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 10.2-month supply in January. Regionally, existing-home sales jumped 11.3% in the Northeast, 2.5% in the Midwest, and 2.1% in the South. Sales fell 1.1% in the West.