Existing home sales in March retreated 2.4% from the month before to an annualized rate of 4.44 million, reversing gains from February, data from the National Association of Realtors out Thursday showed, as activity during the selling season remained down from a year ago.
The annualized rate was less than the 4.5 million expected by economists, according to Bloomberg data. The median sales price for an existing home also slipped to $375,700, down 0.9% from $379,300 a year ago, NAR data showed.
"Home sales are trying to recover and are highly sensitive to changes in mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in their press release. “Yet, at the same time, multiple offers on starter homes are quite common, implying more supply is needed to fully satisfy demand. It’s a unique housing market.”
Total inventory for housing at the end of March stood at 980,000 units, up 1.0% from February's figure and up 5.4% from a year ago, the NAR reported. About 65% of homes sold in March were sitting on the market for less than a month. Inventory sat on the market for 29 days in March, down from 34 days in February.
“Home prices continue to rise in regions where jobs are being added and housing is relatively affordable,” Yun noted. “However, the more expensive areas of the country are adjusting to lower prices.”
Meanwhile, confidence among home builders improved in April, which could point to the pickup in the new housing market. Mortgage rates have steadily declined since the beginning of March, boosting demand.
Freddie Mac data out Thursday showed the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 6.39% from 6.27% the week before, reversing last month's declines.
“With overall consumer price inflation calming and rents expected to decelerate from robust apartment construction, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy will surely shift from tightening to neutral to possibly loosening over the next 12 months,” Yun added. “Therefore, home sales will steadily rebound despite several months of fluctuations.”
Regionally, sales in the Northeast were unchanged from February’s figure to an annualized rate of 520,000 in March, underperforming 21.2% from March 2022 levels. The median price in the Northeast was $395,400, up 1.0% from the previous year.
In the Midwest, homes sales slid 5.5% from the prior month to an annual rate of 1.03 million in March, falling 17.6% from a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $273,400, up 1.7% from March 2022.
Sales of existing homes in the South slipped 1.0% in March from February to an annual rate of 2.07 million, a 20.4% decrease from the prior year. The median price in the South was $347,600, an increase of 0.3% from one year ago.
And for the West, existing-home sales were down 3.5% from the previous month to an annual rate of 820,000 in March, down 30.5% from the prior year. The median price in the West was $565,400, down 7.5% from March 2022.
Foreclosures and short sales made up 1% in March, nearly identical to last month and one year ago.
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Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv
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