The first graph shows median home prices for all regions plus the U.S. The median home price in the west during February was $195,300 and it was $156,600 in the U.S.
Nationally, the median home price rose 0.3 percent, year over year.
Home sales transactions (closings) rose 10.6 percent in the West region, year-over-year, and they rose by 13.0 percent nationally during the same period.
The second graph shows closings by region. Closings often increase from January to February due to seasonal factors, but in the West, closings fell by 3.9 percent month to month. Closings rose from January to February in all other regions, and in the U.S. as a whole. Month-to-month, the number of sales in the U.S. rose by 10 percent.
According to the NAR press release:
NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami, said market conditions are improving. “Supply and demand have become more balanced in more markets, but with tight supply in the lower price ranges - particularly in the West,” he said. “When markets are balanced, we normally see prices rise one to two percentage points above the rate of inflation, but foreclosures and short sales are holding back median prices."
