From RealTrends.com: The REAL Trends Housing Market Report for February 2014 shows that housing sales declined by 0.8 percent from the same month a year ago. This is the worst result since the recovery began in September 2011. The annual rate of new and existing home sales for February 2014 was 5.547 million units down slightly from 5.590 million units sold in February 2013.
Even though home sales decreased on a year over year basis, the average price of homes sold increased by 13.8 percent in February 2014 compared to February 2013 one of the strongest showings in the last year.
Housing unit sales for February 2014 increased 4.6 percent in the South, the strongest showing in the country. The Northeast saw an increase of 2.5 percent. The West region had a decline of 5.9 percent and the Midwest was hit the hardest with a decline of 7.3 percent.
The average price of homes sold in February 2014 increased 13.8 percent across the country, a strong showing despite the decline in home sales. The West region had the best results with the average price of homes sold increasing 17.4 percent followed by the Northeast region at 16.7 percent, the South region at 11.9 percent and the Midwest saw average prices rise 8.1 percent.
“February 2014 sales of new and existing homes reflected the decline in the affordability rate in most regions, the widespread inclement weather and the lack of inventory that is plaguing most markets. The slowdown in year over year unit sales also reflects the absence of real growth in employment and household incomes,” said Steve Murray, editor of the REAL Trends Housing Market Report. “As we stated last month we believe that unit sales are nearing a normal level given employment, the number of households, mortgage rates and household income. We expect that year over year increases will continue to be only slightly improved on a year over year basis in the months ahead.”