Existing home sales declined 8.5% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.27 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports. Year-over-year, sales increased 0.8%.
Existing home sales declined 8.5% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.27 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports. Year-over-year, sales increased 0.8%.
“Unfortunately, we knew home sales would wane in March due to the coronavirus outbreak,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stated. “More temporary interruptions to home sales should be expected in the next couple of months, though home prices will still likely rise.”
Regionally, compared with February, existing home sales dropped 7.1% in the Northeast; 3.1% in the Midwest; 9.1% in the South; and 13.6% in the West.
Existing home prices, meanwhile, remained “solidly strong” in March, according to NAR; prices increased 8.0% year-over-year to a median of $280,600.