It is worthwhile to mention the weather when discussing residential real estate for large portions of the U.S. for February 2019, because this month has turned in some impressively cold, rainy and snowy days that have stalled some buying and selling actions. Nevertheless, housing markets have proven to be resilient despite predictions of a tougher year for the industry.

It is still too early to say how the entire year will play out, but economic fundamentals remain positive. New Listings were up 17.5 percent to 275. Pending Sales increased 26.0 percent to 218. Inventory shrank 10.2 percent to 1,035 units. Prices were still soft as Median Sales Price was down 1.2 percent to $162,500. Days on Market decreased 3.4 percent to 140 days. Months Supply of Inventory was down 15.3 percent to 5.0 months, indicating that demand increased relative to supply.

The National Association of REALTORS® recently reported that national existing home sales were down slightly during January 2019 and that pending sales were up in year-over-year comparisons. It is worth noting that some softening of sales was anticipated, as was a positive sales bounce during January 2019 after a slow end to 2018. Weather-related events have hampered some of the necessary machinations of making home sales during February 2019, yet buyers have shown determination toward achieving their homeownership goals.