Preview: Due March 21 - U.S. February Existing Home Sales - A correction lower
We expect existing home sales to see a 1.5% February decline to 3.94m, correcting a 3.1% January increase that will be difficult to sustain with mortgage rates moving higher again after falling in late 2023.
Pending home sales reversed most of a sharp December rise in January and this series is designed to predict existing home sales. MBA house purchase data also lost momentum in February after picking up in January though an improvement in the NAHB homebuilders’ index persisted in February.
We expect the median price to rise by 1.0% on the month, which would be the first rise in eight months through February usually starts a string of seasonal increases. Yr/yr growth has been picking up even with the recent monthly declines and in February we expect it to increase further to 5.3% from 5.1% in January.
