Regionally, purchases rose in all four regions, led by a 10.1 percent increase in the Midwest. In the Northeast the gain was 6.9 percent. Purchases increased by 6.3 percent in the West and 3.8 percent in the South.
“It’s consistent with a bit of a spring rebound,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, a strategist at TD Securities LLC in New York “You’ve had more job growth over the last year or so. A lot of those people who did find employment would be driving some demand for housing.” She had predicted a sales rate of 5.2 million.
The median price of an existing home jumped 7.8 percent from a year ago to $212,100, the most since Feb. 2014. Data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) indicates the purchase price of a home was 5.4 percent higher in Feb. than one year ago Feb.
While the share of first-time buyers rose slightly, the number of less expensive properties on the market remained low. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports the index of purchase applications last week rose to its highest level since June 2013. ##
(Photo credit: mattheafey)
