More numbers are coming out that suggest that February had some good news for the battered real estate market:
Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly rose in February, ending a six-month losing streak.
While the 2.9 percent increase in sales may not signal an end to the housing slump, it offered some relief to sellers who had watched sales fall to record lows in recent months. Some economists say the housing decline is the worst of its kind since World War II.
The major stock indexes surged moments after the National Association of Realtors released its report, with big increases in shares of big builders like Dennar and D. H. Horton. The Dow Jones industrials were up 225 points, or 1.8 percent, at 10:45 a.m.
Existing-home sales advanced to a seasonally adjusted 5.03 million annual rate, up from 4.89 million in January, the trade group said. Sales at condominiums and other multi-family developments increased 3.7 percent after declining 8.2 percent in January.
It will be interesting to see if these numbers hold up.
