Home Sales See Surprise Jump

Home sales were expected to decrease in February, notes the Wall Street Journal. Instead, they rose unexpectedly. Details:

• Existing-home sales rose 4.2% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, per the AP.
• The latest sales topped the 3.92 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Overall, economists were anticipating a 3.2% decrease. It was the first month-over-month spike in two months.

• Buyers appear to be resigned that high prices and mortgage rates aren't going to turn around anytime soon. "The shock is gone," one real-estate agent in Seattle tells the Journal. "People are coming to realize mortgage rates are going to be between 6% and 7%, and this is exactly where we are right now."
• Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 20th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 3.8% in February from a year earlier to $398,400, an all-time high for the month of February. All told, the US median home sales price is up 47% over the last five years.

(More home sales stories.)