Existing-home sales rose 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units in February. The sales pace has been in a fairly narrow range since last September.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the gain is encouraging. “We’re not expecting a notable gain in existing-home sales until the second half of this year, but the improvement is another sign that the market is stabilizing,” he says. “Buyers taking advantage of higher loan limits for both FHA and conventional mortgages will unleash some pent-up demand. As inventories are drawn down, prices in many markets should go positive later this year.”

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