Existing-Home Sales Fall, Inventory Builds as Buyers Face Higher Prices
Existing-home sales across the United States declined in March, according to new data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Thursday.
Sales of previously owned homes — including single-family houses, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops — fell 5.9% from February, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million. Compared to a year ago, sales decreased by 2.4%, dropping from 4.12 million units recorded in March 2023.
Despite slower sales, the national median existing-home price rose. The median price climbed 2.7% year-over-year to $403,700. All four major U.S. regions — the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West — recorded annual price gains.
Total housing inventory at the end of March stood at 1.33 million units, an 8.1% increase from February and a 19.8% jump compared to the previous year. At the current sales pace, the unsold inventory equates to a 4.0-month supply, up from 3.5 months in February and 3.2 months in March 2024.
Properties typically spent 36 days on the market in March, an improvement from 42 days in February but longer than the 33 days seen in March 2024, according to NAR’s monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index.
First-time buyers represented 32% of sales in March, a slight uptick from 31% in February, matching the rate from a year earlier. However, NAR’s 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, released in November, noted that the annual share of first-time buyers had fallen to a record low of 24%.
Cash sales accounted for 26% of transactions last month, down from 32% in February and 28% in March 2024. Individual investors and second-home buyers, who often purchase properties with cash, accounted for 15% of sales, a level consistent with last year’s figures.
Distressed sales, including foreclosures and short sales, accounted for 3% of transactions, remaining steady from February but slightly higher than the 2% recorded a year prior.
Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.83% as of April 17, an increase from 6.62% the previous week but lower than the 7.1% recorded at the same time last year.
Breaking it down by property type, single-family home sales declined 6.4% in March to an annual rate of 3.64 million, representing a 2.2% decrease compared to the same period last year. The median price for an existing single-family home rose 2.9% to $408,000.
Condominium and co-op sales held steady at an annual rate of 380,000 units but were down 5% year-over-year. The median condo price rose 1.5% to $363,000.
Regional figures showed that sales in the West posted the steepest decline, plunging 9.4% in March to an annual rate of 770,000. However, sales in the West were up 1.3% compared to March 2024. The median home price in the region climbed 2.6% year-over-year to $621,200.
