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以价换量!美国成屋销售环比大幅回暖,售价2012年来首次同比下跌

Price for quantity! Existing home sales in the US picked up sharply month-on-month, and prices fell year-on-year for the first time since 2012

Wallstreet News ·  Mar 21, 2023 23:50

Source: Wall Street News
Author: Cho Chak-hee

The median sales price of existing homes in the US fell 0.2% year on year to 363,000 US dollars/unit in February, the first decline since 2012; total annual home sales rose 14.5% month-on-month in February, the biggest increase since mid-2020, and ended a record year of decline due to rising interest rates and affordability restrictions, to 4.58 million households.

On Tuesday, March 21, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median sales price of existing homes in the US in February fell 0.2% year-on-year to 363,000 US dollars/unit, the first drop since 2012.

Total annual home sales in the US rose 14.5% month-on-month in February, the biggest increase since mid-2020, and ended a year of record decline due to rising interest rates and affordability restrictions, reaching 4.58 million households.

However, sales of existing homes in the US still fell 22.6% year on year in February.

The S&P Home Builders Index rose 1.7%, a new intraday high since February 15.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement that the monthly increase and sales volume both exceeded market forecasts:

Furthermore, in regions where housing prices are falling and the local economy is increasing employment opportunities, we are seeing stronger sales growth.

NAR believes that the second-hand housing market may continue to be tight due to insufficient inventory of existing homes in the US. Many homeowners have low interest rates on their mortgages, which makes them less motivated to switch homes or sell their existing homes.

In February, the number of homes for sale across the US was 980,000, and it would take 2.6 months to digest these houses. Real estate agents believe that any supply below five months is an indication of market tension. About 57% of sold homes have been on the market for less than a month. The average time a property stayed on the market in February was 34 days, almost double that of the same period last year, but the sales rate has reached a new high in 5 months.

Despite an increase in existing home sales in February, US residential real estate remains sluggish against the backdrop of the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy tightening. Mortgage interest rates soared last year and discouraged many potential buyers. The current difficulties in the US banking industry may also prompt banks to tighten lending standards, which may hinder the continued growth of residential real estate.

Existing home sales account for about 90% of residential real estate sales in the US, so they are seen as a weather vane for the US real estate market.

By region, home sales in the western, southern, and midwestern United States showed double-digit growth in February, with increases in all regions. However, the median price of a home sold in the western US is 5.6% lower than a year ago, which may help boost real estate demand in the region.

Also, first-time homebuyers accounted for 27% of purchases in February, a record low, down 4 percentage points from the previous month. Furthermore, full-price home purchases accounted for 28% of total sales.

Looking at the type of housing, sales of single-family homes increased 15.3% to an annualized rate of 4.14 million units, the highest level since September last year. Sales of existing condos and townhouses are also up from a month ago.

Editor/Somer

The translation is provided by third-party software.


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