Forexpros – U.S. existing home sales declined more-than-expected in February, but the previous month’s figure was upwardly revised, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales dipped by 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted 4.59 million units in February, compared to expectations for a decline to 4.61 million units.
The figure is 8.8% higher than the 4.22 million-unit level in February 2011.
Existing home sales in January was revised up by nearly 1.5% to 4.63 million units from a previously reported 4.57 million.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said underlying factors are much better compared to one year ago.
“The market is trending up unevenly, with record high consumer buying power and sustained job gains giving buyers the confidence they need to get into the market.”
“Although relatively unusual, there will be rising demand for both rental space and homeownership this year. The great suppression in household formation during the past four years was unsustainable, and a pent-up demand could burst forth from the improving economy,” he added.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar was fractionally lower against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.02% to trade at 1.3227.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were largely unchanged after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.05%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.1%.
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