by Despite high inventory levels and sluggish year-over-year sales, prices continued to rise in all 4 regions
WASHINGTON — Existing home sales in March declined 2.4% from March 2024 and fell 5.9% from February, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors.
In addition, home prices rose to an all-time high for the month of March, further pricing many consumers out of the market, despite an 8.1% increase in inventory from February and a nearly 20% increase from last year.
Existing home sales rose to 4.02 million in March, down 2.4% from 4.12 million in March 2024, the NAR said, noting that sales fell in the Midwest and South, while rising in the West and remaining level in the Northeast. Sales declined in all regions from February, according to the NAR report.
“Home buying and selling remained sluggish in March due to the affordability challenges associated with high mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR. “Residential housing mobility, currently at historical lows, signals the troublesome possibility of less economic mobility for society.”
The report said that total inventory at the end of March was 1.33 million units, up 19.8% from 1.11 million in March 2024 and up 8.1% from February. It also noted that unsold inventory is at a four-month supply at the current sales pace, which also is up from 3.5 months in February and 3.2 months in March 2024.
Meanwhile, the existing home price for all housing types including single-family homes, condos and townhomes totaled $403,700, up 2.7% from $392,900 in March 2024. All four regions had an increase, the NAR said.
Single-family home sales totaled 3.64 million in March, which was down 2.2% from the prior year and down 6.4% from February. The median price was $408,000 in March, up 2.9% from a year earlier.
Existing condominium and co-op sales totaled 380,000, down 5% from March 2024 but unchanged from February. The median existing price was $363,000, up 1.5% from $357,700 in March 2024.
“In a stark contrast to the stock and bond markets, household wealth in residential real estate continues to reach new heights,” Yun said. “With mortgage delinquencies at near-historical lows, the housing market is on solid footing.”
He added that “a small deceleration in home price gains, which was slightly below wage-growth increases in March, would be a welcome improvement for affordability. With real estate asset valuation at $52 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Flow of Funds, each percentage point gain in home prices adds more than $500 billion to the household balance sheet.”
By region the activity was as follows:
+ In the Northeast, existing home sales totaled 490,000, level with last year, but down 2% from February. The median price in the region was $468,000, up 7.7% from a year earlier.
+ In the Midwest, sales totaled 950,000, down 3.1% from March 2024 and down 5% from February. The median price was $302,100, up 3.5% from March 2024.
+ In the South, home sales totaled 1.81 million, down 4.2% from March 2024 and down 5.7% from February. The median price in the region was $360,400, up .6% from March 2024.
+ In the West, existing home sales totaled 770,000, up 1.3% from March 2024 but down 9.4% from February. The median price was $621,200, up 2.6% from March 2024.
Other highlights of the report were as follows:
+ Properties typically remained on the market 36 days in March, up from 33 days in March 2024 but down from 42 days in February.
+ First-time buyers accounted for 32% of sales during the month, level with March 2024 but up from 31% in February.
+ Cash sales represented 26% of transactions in March, down from 28% in March 2024 and down from 32% in February. Individual investors, or second-home buyers that make up many cash sales, purchased 15% of existing homes in March, level with March 2024 but down from 16% in February.
+ Distressed sales, including foreclosures and short sales, accounted for 3% of sales in March, up from 2% in March 2024 but level with February.
+ Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.83% as of April 17, down from 7.1% in March 2024 but up from 6.62% a week earlier.
