The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released news that sales of existing homes in the United States rose by 5.1 percent in February from the previous month of January. The annual rate of sales for the month was 4.72 million homes, compared to 4.49 million in January.
This was the largest jump in monthly sales since July, 2003, according to the NAR. Home sales activity has now returned to December levels, but is still lower than it was for much of 2008.
The median selling price for homes during the month fell to $165,400, down from $195,800 in February of 2008. That is the second largest drop on record. One reason for so many low priced homes is the large number of foreclosures and distressed home sales. According to the report, as many as 45 percent of home sales in the US came from foreclosures or distressed sales.
