Home Sales have Dropped in February

Sales of new homes dropped 1.6% in February to only 313,000 units from 318,000 in January which was actually revised downward from 321,000.  However the number rose 11.6% from the same period in 2011. This number disappointed analysts who were expecting a better number at 325,000 for February.

The average sale price for the homes climbed 2.2% to $233,700 from January. The largest decline in sales was in the South which happened to account for most of the sales as well. The sales in the South dropped 1.2%, on a yearly basis and 7.2% on a monthly basis compare to January.

The other regions of the country including West, Midwest and Northeast all saw big increases of 32.8%, 29% and 26.3%, accordingly, in February compared to January 2011.

There was an estimated 150,000 homes on the market in February, an inventory of almost 6 months per the current sales rate. That inventory rate was up 1.8% monthly but definitely down from 2011.  The uptick in home sales in addition to the new government programs such as the HARP II Refinance Program are reasons to be optimistic about an economic recovery.

Gretchen Wegrich

Gretchen Wegrich is an editor at Lender411. She specializes in mortgage basics, personal finance and green living. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in writing from University of California, San Diego and previously worked at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Contact her at gretchen@lender411com.