Housing’s hot, everybody knows that. 🏡 🔥 But could the COVID housing market madness have run its course??
US home sales fell last month as supply stayed low; existing home sales fell 2% to an annual rate of 5.88 million units. Home sales were down throughout all regions in the US, but sales were down most in the South (-3.0%).
Last month, single-family home sales dropped 1.9% and condo sales fell 2.8%. Home resales tumbled 1.5% YoY. Prices are still up for the time being, though — the median housing price is up 14.9% YoY, and the number of first-time homebuyers is dwindling. Housing inventories have tumbled 13.4% YoY.
“The recent moderation in existing home sales reflects some easing of the buying frenzy that carried over into early 2021,” according to senior economist Mark Vitner at Wells Fargo. Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital, commented:
“There is a suggestion here in the moderation of price gains and sales, and a declining share of first-time buyers, that a considerable portion of the stock adjustment of demand for homes to low rates and pandemic-driven population moves has taken place.”
With a slow in year-over-year sales, maybe a return to normalcy for the US housing market is on the horizon? 🤔 Time will tell.