Existing Home Sales Rose About 2% In February

• 1:27 PM EDT

by UrbanTurf Staff

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The housing market showed a modest pulse in February, with existing-home sales rising 1.7% month-over-month, according to the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday.

The gains were broad-based geographically, with sales climbing in the Midwest, South, and West, while the Northeast was the lone region to post a decline. The bump came alongside continued improvement in affordability: NAR's Housing Affordability Index rose to 117.6 in February — its highest level since March 2022 — as mortgage rates continued their slow retreat from recent highs.

Still, the gains need to be kept in context. Sales were down 1.4% compared to February 2025, and NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun was measured in his optimism.

"Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding," Yun said. "Still, there is a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels of transaction activity. There are more than 6 million more jobs than in 2019, yet home sales per year are down by one million."

A bright spot in the February data was first-time buyer participation. First-time buyers accounted for 34% of sales, up from 31% in January— a meaningful jump that suggests the affordability improvements may be reaching the buyers who need it most. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in February was 6.05%, down from 6.10% the prior month and a full 79 basis points below the rate a year ago.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/existing_home_sales_rose_about_2_in_february/24402.