Sales of existing homes in the United States increased by 5.2 percent in February, but analysts said the gain is likely to be short-lived as the rising mortgage rates is cooling down the housing market.

The U.S. National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday that sales of existing single-family homes increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.91 million units last month.

By regions of the country, sales of existing homes rose by 19.2 percent in the Northeast and 11.1 percent in the Midwest in February. Sales also increased by 5.1 percent in the West but declined by 2.5 percent in the South.

The report also showed that the price of homes sold in February rose to 209,000 dollars for the nationwide median, the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less. That was 10.6 percent above the median price in February 2005.

The U.S. National Association of Realtors has forecasted that sales of existing homes would fall by about 5 percent this year compared to the record high level in last year.

Source: Xinhua