The sales of used homes or, second-hand as they are also known, raised their costs during the past month of February. This was revealed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in its monthly study on the subject. The unexpected rise was 14.5% after a decline of 0.7% was reported in the first month of the year.
What happened in February classified as the first increase of 2023 after several consecutive falls in previous months. There are multiple causes, however, the most notable is the decline in mortgage rates. This factor forced buyers to streamline the process even more.
Lawrence Yun, renowned economist and head of NAR, referred to the subject. “With the changes in mortgage rates, homebuyers are taking advantage of any decline.”
stronger earnings
The expert himself noted that much stronger gains are being seen in various parts of the country. Above all, it refers to cities where prices decrease and local economies create more jobs. Despite these changes in housing costs, it is essential to remember that the real estate market does not move in the same way.
In this case the prices vary depending on the affordability of the market. And it is very difficult to predict how certain key parameters will behave in this phenomenon. For example, the regions that offer lower prices, the market experiences a slight growth and vice versa.
An interesting fact related to the subject was published by Housing Starts in its recent report. It is that the construction of homes in the United States increased by 9.8% in the aforementioned month of February.
The rise is 18.4% less than in 2022. Then, mortgage rates increased between May and July, causing construction to suffer sharp falls.