Core Insights - Existing home sales in the U.S. increased by 1.7% in February, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, driven by easing mortgage rates and a slight rise in available properties [1] - Year-over-year, sales fell by 1.4% compared to February of the previous year, but the latest figures exceeded economists' expectations of 3.84 million units [2] - The national median sales price rose by 0.3% year-over-year to $398,000, marking 32 consecutive months of annual price increases [2] Sales Trends - The increase in sales follows a significant decline in January, which recorded the largest monthly drop in nearly four years and the slowest annualized sales pace in over two years [3] - The U.S. housing market has been experiencing a downturn since 2022, attributed to rising mortgage rates from pandemic lows, with sales remaining at 30-year lows throughout the previous year [3] - Sales have been consistently around a 4-million annual pace since 2023, which is significantly below the historical norm of 5.2 million annual sales [4]