Builder confidence rose for the second consecutive month in February with a seven-point increase that brought it to its highest level since last September, the National Association of Home Builders said. 

The 30-year fixed rate fell for the fifth week in a row, giving a lift to lending activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. 

The median sales price of a new home was down on a monthly basis but up on an annual one. 

House prices, however, continued to rise, marking the 130th consecutive month for price gains, the longest streak on record, the National Association of REALTORS® said.   

The increase in builder confidence breaks a string of 12 straight monthly declines in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. 

Geographically, the largest home-price increases took place in the Southeast, led by Florida (18%), South Carolina (13.9%) and Georgia (13.6%), CoreLogic reported, citing its November Home Price Insights report.    

Regionally, the pending-sales index fell 7.9% month over month in the Northeast, 6.6% in the Midwest, 2.3% in the South and 0.9% in the West. 

At the same time, the median sales price of a new house slid to $471,200 from $484,700 in October and $430,300 a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported. 

The month-over-month decline in sales came as prices rose for the 129th consecutive month, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

New-home permits fell 11.2% month over month, while housing completions jumped 10.8% in what one observer said could have “worrisome” long-term consequences for the nation’s housing supply. 

The 30-year fixed-rate inched to 6.42%, which is still close to the lowest rate in a month, the group said. 

October’s 4.6% monthly drop follows a 10.2% decline in September, the National Association of REALTORS® reported. 

Housing prices were down in all 20 cities tracked by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index.

New-home sales rose 7.5% month over month, while the median price of a new house surged to $493,000 from $455,700 in September and $427,300 a year ago, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.   

The pace of new single-family home sales, meanwhile, fell 6.1% from September to 598,000. 

The median existing-home price rose for the 128th month in a row, extending its record-breaking streak of increases.