US Existing-Home Sales Fall 5.9% In March, Median Price For All Housing Types Rises

U.S. existing home sales in March fell 5.9% from the previous month, marking the largest decline since 2022, as consumers faced high mortgage rates and prices.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) total existing home sales slid to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million in March. This marked the weakest March sales since 2009, according to a Bloomberg report.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that home buying and selling remained sluggish in March due to the affordability challenges associated with high mortgage rates. "Residential housing mobility, currently at historical lows, signals the troublesome possibility of less economic mobility for society.”

Meanwhile, the median existing-home price for all housing types rose 2.7% year-over-year (YoY) in March to $403,700. Total housing inventory registered at the end of March rose 8.1% sequentially to 1.33 million units, and 19.8% from the same period a year ago.

“With mortgage delinquencies at near-historical lows, the housing market is on solid footing. A small deceleration in home price gains, which was slightly below wage-growth increases in March, would be a welcome improvement for affordability,” Yun added.

Mortgage rates increased in the near term. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.83% as of April 17, up from 6.62% the previous week and down from 7.1% one year ago.

Meanwhile, according to the monthly REALTORS' Confidence Index, properties typically remained on the market for 36 days in March, compared to 42 days in February and 33 days in March 2024.

Earlier on Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that U.S. initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level to 222,000 in the week ending April 19.

Benchmark U.S. indices rallied on Thursday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, traded 1.3% higher, while the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq Composite, rose 1.87% by Thursday morning.

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