Housing inventory

Sales of previously owned homes rose in February by the most since mid-2020, snapping a record year-long slide tied to rising interest rates and affordability constraints.

Less than one-third of households would be able to afford 2022's median-priced new home, according to the National Association of Homebuilders.

Residential starts rose 9.8% last month to a 1.45 million annualized rate, the fastest in five months, according to government data released Thursday

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo gauge rose 2 points this month to a six-month high of 44, figures showed Wednesday.

The National Association of Realtors' index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes increased 8.1% in January from a month earlier to 82.5. The jump beat all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, which called for a 1% advance.

Sales of new U.S. homes increased in January by more than expected to the highest level in nearly a year, fueled entirely by purchases in the South, indicating some stabilization in the housing market after a brutal year.

The company said it expects to accelerate its timeline for selling through money-losing inventory, as the data-driven home-flipper looks to move on from a tumultuous year.

Contract closings slipped 0.7% at the start of the year to an annualized pace of 4 million, according to data from the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday.

Residential starts decreased 4.5% last month to a 1.31 million annualized rate, according to government data released Thursday.

The increase in sentiment to a five-month high was fueled by more optimism about sales, the outlook and a pickup in prospective-buyer traffic.