Existing Home Sale Growth Highest in West, South

Single-family existing homes had the biggest jump in sales in February 2018, rising 4.2 percent over the previous month, and 1.8 percent year-over-year.

The West and South were sales hotbeds last month. Existing home sales in the South rose 6.6 percent from January 2018, and 3.4 percent from February 2017. Sales in the West were up 11.4 percent month over month, and 2.4 percent YOY. Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale says that this is due in part to new construction driving existing homeowners to trade up. "It’s leading to faster turnover," she says, adding that March buying and selling data will be the telling lodestar for the remainder of the home selling season.

Sales were down in the Midwest, sliding 2.4 percent from the previous month to the same level as one year ago. In the Northeast, they fell 12.3 percent from January and 7.2 percent from February 2016 ... After a dip in the number of closings in December and January, about 5.54 million existing homes (which have previously been lived in) were sold in February, according to the most recent National Association of Realtors report.

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