US existing home sales fall to 6-month low

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Existing home sales in the US decreased in February to its lowest level in six months, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) data released Friday.

Existing home sales, which measure the change in the number of existing residential buildings sold, fell by 7.2% to 6.02 million in February, from the previous month, which marks its sharpest decline in a year.

While the market estimate was a decline of 1% to 6.1 million, existing home sales fell 6.6% to at 6.49 million in January.

On an annual basis, existing home sales in February decreased 2.4%, from 6.17 million the same month of last year.

"Housing affordability continues to be a major challenge, as buyers are getting a double whammy: rising mortgage rates and sustained price increases," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

The median existing-home sales price rose to $357,300, up 15% from a year ago, according to NAR.