National Existing-Home Sales Rose in February

WASHINGTON — Existing-home sales increased by 1.7% month-over-month in February, according to the National Association of Realtors® Existing-Home Sales Report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem – including agents, homebuyers and sellers – with data on the level of home sales, price, and inventory.

Month-over-month sales rose in the Midwest, South and West, and fell in the Northeast. Year-over-year sales rose in the South and fell in the Northeast, Midwest and West.

Affordability improved for the eighth consecutive month, according to NAR’s Housing Affordability Index – increasing to 117.6 in February from 117.1 in January and 103.1 a year ago. This marks the highest level since March 2022.

“Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “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.”

“Despite the modest gain in home sales, actual housing demand remains muted relative to wage growth and job gains,” Yun continued. “Wage growth is now outpacing home price growth by almost four percentage points. Mortgage rates are also measurably lower compared to a year ago.”

“Inventory is growing, but sluggishly,” he added. “If demand picks up notably in the coming months and outpaces supply growth, home prices will inevitably rise. That is why increasing supply is so important to help limit home price growth, improve housing affordability, and boost transactions.”

National snapshot

Total existing-home sales for February

• 1.7% increase in existing-home sales1 month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million.
• 1.4% decrease in sales year-over-year.

Inventory in February

• 1.29 million units: Total housing inventory2, up 2.4% from January and 4.9% from February 2025.
• 3.8-month supply of unsold inventory, unchanged from last month and up from 3.6 months one year ago.

Median sales price in February

• $398,000: Median existing-home price3 for all housing types, up 0.3% from one year ago ($396,800)—the 32nd consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

Housing affordability in February

• The Housing Affordability Index rose to 117.6 in February, up from 117.1 in January and 103.1 a year ago.
• Year-over-year, affordability improved across all regions.
  • Northeast +10.0%
  • Midwest +11.7%
  • South +14.1%
  • West +17.0%

Single-family and condo/co-op sales

Single-family homes in February

• 2.5% increase in sales month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.73 million, down 1.1% from February 2025.
• $401,800: Median home price, up 0.2% from last year.

Condominiums and co-ops in February

• 5.3% decrease in sales month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 360,000, down 5.3% from last year.
• $358,100: Median price, up 0.9% from February 2025.

Regional snapshot for existing-home sales in February

Northeast

• 6.0% decrease in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 470,000, down 4.1% year-over-year.
• $479,800: Median price, up 3.3% from February 2025.

Midwest

• 1.1% increase in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 940,000, down 4.1% year-over-year.
• $302,100: Median price, up 2.3% from February 2025.

South

• 1.6% increase in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 1.89 million, up 0.5% year-over-year.
• $356,800: Median price, up 0.2% from February 2025.

West

• 8.2% increase in sales month-over-month to an annual rate of 790,000, down 1.3% year-over-year.
• $603,100: Median price, down 1.9% from February 2025.

Realtors® Confidence Index for February

• 47 days: Median time on market for properties, up from 46 days last month and 42 days in February 2025.
• 34% of sales were first-time homebuyers, up from 31% in January and one year ago.
• 31% of transactions were cash sales, up from 27% a month ago and down from 32% in February 2025.
• 16% of transactions were individual investors or second-home buyers, unchanged from last month and one year ago.
• 3% of sales were distressed sales 4 (foreclosures and short sales), up from 2% last month and unchanged from February 2025.

Mortgage rates

• 6.05%: The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in February, according to Freddie Mac, down from 6.10% in January and 6.84% one year ago.

© 2026 National Association of Realtors® (NAR)