Sales of existing homes declined 2.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Compared with March 2022, existing home sales slumped 22.0%.
“Home sales are trying to recover and are highly sensitive to changes in mortgage rates,” stated NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “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 housing inventory rose 1.0% from February to 980,000 units, and unsold inventory was at a 2.6-month supply at the current sales pace. The median existing home price for all housing types was $375,700, a 0.9% decline compared with March 2022.
Existing home sales declined in every region year-over-year in March. Month-over-month, existing home sales were unchanged in the Northeast and declined 5.5% in the Midwest, 1.0% in the South and 3.5% in the West.
The full NAR report can be found here.
