Home sales in February recorded a 17% upswing from January and a 2.3% uptick from one year earlier, according to new data from RE/MAX LLC, a subsidiary of RE/MAX Holdings (NYSE: RMAX).
“The February jump in sales activity illustrates the strength of demand in many markets. Buyers are out there looking for homes,” said RE/MAX President Amy Lessinger. “Investing in real estate is still one of the best ways to build wealth. As the market has continued to rebalance, both buyers and sellers seem to be adjusting their plans and making moves they may have had on hold for a while.”
While home sales were rising, home prices were also on the rise. The February median home price of $412,000 was up 2.1% from the previous month and up 7% year-over-year. RE/MAX added the $27,000 increase from one year earlier “reflected that buyers on average were willing to pay 99% of the listing price.”
The markets with the biggest year-over-year increase in median sales price were Trenton, New Jersey at 23.7% and Bozeman, Montana, at 21.7%, while the biggest year-over-year decrease was the 9.9% drop in Burlington, Vermont.
February’s inventory level was a scant 0.6% lower from January, while the 1.9-months’ supply of inventory declined slightly from January’s 2.1 – although it was also up from last February’s 1.6, and the number of homes for sale was 10.8% higher than a year ago.
RE/MAX also reported homes took an average of 44 days to sell in February – two days faster than January and one day faster than February 2023.
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