NAR: Existing-Home Sales Fall 4.3% in March

(Image courtesy of NAR; Breakout image courtesy of Harrison Haines/pexels.com)

The National Association of Realtors, Chicago, reported existing-home sales fell 4.3% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million.

Year-over-year, the sales were down 3.7%.

“Though rebounding from cyclical lows, home sales are stuck because interest rates have not made any major moves,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “There are nearly 6 million more jobs now compared to pre-COVID highs, which suggests more aspiring home buyers exist in the market.”

The median existing-home sales price was up 4.8% year-over-year, to $393,500–the highest price ever recorded in a March. The increase also marks the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year price gains.

The inventory of unsold existing homes grew 4.7% from February to 1.11 million at the end of March. That’s 3.2 months’ supply at the current sales pace, up from 2.9 months in February and 2.7 months in March 2023.

Broken down by type, single-family home sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.8 million, down 4.3% from 3.97 million in February and 2.8% year-over-year.

Existing condo and co-op sales decreased 4.9% from the last month and 11.4% year-over-year.

Regionally, existing-home sales were up 4.2% month-over-month in the Northeast. Year-over-year they were down 3.8%.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales fell 1.9% from the last month, and 1% year-over-year.

In the South they fell 5.9% from February, and 5% year-over-year.

In the West, existing-home sales fell 8.2% from the last month, and 3.7% from the year before.