WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Boosted by a record decline in prices, the U.S. housing market showed signs of stability in February, with sales of existing home rising modestly for the first time in seven months, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.
Resales of U.S. homes and condos rose 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.03 million, ahead of the 4.85 million pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar.
It's the strongest sales pace since October. Sales are down 23.8% compared with a year ago.
Inventories of unsold homes fell 3% to 4.03 million, representing a 9.6-month supply at the February sales pace. Inventories are not seasonally adjusted, but a decline from January to February is unusual. Read more from the NAR.
The median sales price plunged to $195,900, down 8.2% from a year earlier, the largest price decline recorded. Prices of single-family homes fell 8.7% in the past year, also the most since the records begin in 1968.
Since the credit crunch first hit in August, resales have been "stuck" in a narrow range around 5 million, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the real estate agents' trade group.
Sales rose in three of four regions, with the West still lagging. Sales rose 11.3% in the Northeast, 2.5% in the Midwest and 2.1% in the South. Sales fell 1.1% in the West.
Median sales prices are down 13.4% in the West, largely because the market for jumbo loans above $417,000 remains frozen, Yun said.
The median sales prices can be affected by the mix of home sold regionally and within different price ranges. Two other home price indexes that track resales of the same home over time will be released on Tuesday.
Sales of single-family homes rose 2.8% in February to 4.47 million, the second increase in a row and the fastest sales pace since August. Inventories of unsold single-family homes fell 5.5% to 3.43 million, a 9.2-month supply.
Sales of condos rose 3.7% in February to 560,000 annualized. Condo sales are down 29.7% in the past year. Inventories of unsold condos rose 14% to 604,000, a 13-month supply.
The Commerce Department will report on sales of new homes on Wednesday, with economists looking for a decline to 575,000 annualized sales from 588,000. 
Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch.
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