Existing-Home Sales Fell More Than 6 Percent In February 2021

The National Association of Realtors' latest report showed a 6.6% decrease in existing-home sales for February 2021, to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 6.22 million. Despite the decline, the NAR reported that sales are still 9.1% higher year-over-year.

"Despite the drop in home sales for February – which I would attribute to historically-low inventory – the market is still outperforming pre-pandemic levels," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. "I still expect this year’s sales to be ahead of last year’s, and with more COVID-19 vaccinations being distributed and available to larger shares of the population, the nation is on the cusp of returning to a sense of normalcy. Many Americans have been saving money and there’s a strong possibility that once the country fully reopens, those reserves will be unleashed on the economy."

Meanwhile, the report also revealed that the median existing-home price for all housing types in February 2021 was $313,000, up 15.8% year-over-year.

"Home affordability is weakening," said Yun. "Various stimulus packages are expected and they will indeed help, but an increase in inventory is the best way to address surging home costs."

Total housing inventory at the end of February amounted to 1.03 million units, according to the report that is equal to January’s inventory and down 29.5% year-over-year (1.46 million).

Click here to read more from the NAR's report.