Mubasher: US home sales saw a robust rebound during February, recording the biggest monthly gain since more than three years ago, official data showed on Friday.

Total US existing home sales soared 11.8% last February at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.51 million units from January, the largest month-over-month gain since December 2015, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said.

However, on annualised basis, sales declined 1.8% year-on-year.

“A powerful combination of lower mortgage rates, more inventory, rising income and higher consumer confidence is driving the sales rebound,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said.

Breaking down the four major regions in the US, the Midwest, the South and the West saw a surge in sales, while sales in the Northeast were steady, the data indicated.

The median house price climbed 3.8% year-on-year to $249,500 last month from $240,800, marking the 84th month of yearly price hikes in a row.

First-time buyers were 32% of sales in February, rising 3% from 29% in the prior month and the same month last year.

At last February’s pace, it would take 3.5 months to sell the current inventory, compared with the ratio of 3.9 months in January and 3.4 months a year ago.