Although February existing home sales are down 1.3% from January, year-over-year shows an increase of 10.4%.
Projections show that existing home sales for February will fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates of 5.23 to 5.58 million annual sales, with a targeted number of 5.4 million, according to a forecast report by Ten-X, an online real estate marketplace.
"Following the temporary market setbacks brought on by the implementation of the CFPB's 'Know Before You Owe' rules, the latest sales figures indicate that housing is starting off the year on solid ground," Ten-X Chief Economist Peter Muoio said.
"Several positive underlying fundamentals, particularly a stronger labor market and improved household spending power due to reduced energy expenses, should lead to a rise in home sales despite growing global economic concerns and relatively weak GDP growth," he said.
Back in January, in increase in sales of .4% month-over-month, and 11% from the previous year brought the market to its highest point in six months. The annual gain was its highest since July 2013.
Despite the improving sales, the market still has its struggles, according to Ten-X.
"Constrained inventory will continue to limit the recovery of the housing market, and it doesn't seem likely that we're going to see a surge in the number of homes for sale as the spring home buying season approaches," Ten-X Executive Vice President Rick Sharga said. "As demand appears to be growing, especially in certain geographies, prices are likely to rise, impacting affordability, and leaving homeownership just out of reach for many would-be buyers."
The National Association of Realtors recently reported an 8.2% annual increase in median existing home prices to $213,800 for January, marking the largest annual increase since April and the 47th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
Sales prices for existing homes will fall between $209,607 and $231,671 in the month of February with a targeted price of $220,639, representing a 9.3% year-over-year increase, according to findings from the Ten-X real estate nowcast.
