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WASHINGTON,moncler pas cher, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Sales of existing homes in the United States rose unexpectedly by 5.1 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million units,burberry pas cher, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday.
While sales gained,burberry, home prices were down last month. The national median price of existing homes plunged by 15.5 percent from a year ago to 165,400 U.S. dollars, the second largest drop on record.
Lawrence Yun,casque dr dre, NAR chief economist, said first time buyers accounted for half of all home sales last month,doudoune moncler pas cher, with activity concentrated in lower price ranges.
"Because entry level buyers are shopping for bargains, distressed sales accounted for 40 to 45 percent of transactions in February," he said. "Our analysis shows that distressed homes typically are selling for 20 percent less than the normal market price, and this naturally is drawing down the overall median price."
Yun said a recovery in the West is much stronger than expected. "Strong sales gains in the West are led by California, where the median listing price is beginning to rise for the first time in three years,casque beats," he said.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage edged up to 5.13 percent in February from a record low 5.05 percent in January while the rate was 5.92 percent in February 2008. Last month's average mortgage rate was the second lowest since data collection began in 1971. Last week the rate further declined to 4.98 percent.
Total housing inventory at the end of February rose 5.2 percent to 3.80 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 9.7-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from January. In the six months prior to February, the total number of homes for sale had steadily declined from a record level last July.
Regionally, existing home sales in the Northeast jumped 15.6 percent to an annual pace of 740,000 in February,moncler, but are 14.9 percent below February 2008. The median price in the Northeast was251,200 dollars, down 4.8 percent from a year ago.
Existing home sales in the Midwest increased 1.0 percent in February to a pace of 1.04 million but are 14.0 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was 131,doudouen moncler,000 dollars, which is 7.8 percent below February 2008.
In the South,abercrombie, existing home sales rose 6.1 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million in February but are 11.2 percent below February 2008. The median price in the South was 146,abercrombie and fitch,700 dollars, down 10.0 percent from a year ago.
Existing home sales in the West increased 2.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.20 million in February and remain 30.4 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the West was 204,600 dollars, which is 30.3 percent below February 2008.相关的主题文章：
