Existing home sales in the United States rose 1.7% in February 2026 from the previous month to an annualized rate of 4.09 million, defying market expectations for a decline to 3.89 million. Despite the rebound in sales, unsold inventory increased by a steeper 2.4% to 1.29 million units, equivalent to 3.8 months of supply at the current sales pace.
The median sales price of existing homes edged up 0.3% from a year earlier to $398,000, even as mortgage rates declined over the period.
“Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Still, there is a long way to go before we return to pre-pandemic levels of transaction activity. There are more than 6 million additional jobs compared with 2019, yet annual home sales are down by one million. Despite the modest gain in home sales, underlying housing demand remains muted relative to wage growth and job gains.”
