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Sales of previously occupied US homes were essentially flat in April, a sign of a still-sluggish housing market during what is traditionally its busiest time of the year. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales edged up 0.2% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units. Compared with April last year, sales were unchanged.
The April pace also came in below economists’ expectations. FactSet cited a forecast of roughly 4.12 million units.
While transactions were steady, prices continued to climb. The US median sales price increased 0.9% year over year in April to $417,700, which NAR said was an all-time high for any April in data going back to 1999. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 34 months in a row.
NAR noted that the broader housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began rising from pandemic-era lows. Existing home sales were essentially flat last year and remained stuck at a 30-year low. Through the first three months of this year, sales have been declining versus a year earlier.
NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said the spring buying season has not shown improvement versus last year. “This spring homebuying season, so far all the way through April, we can say we are not predicting any increase compared to one year ago,” he said.
Freddie Mac data suggests that homes sold in April likely went under contract in February and March, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 5.98% (its lowest level in three and a half years) to 6.38%. The average rate was 6.37% last week. The report also said mortgage rates have been fluctuating since the war with Iran began, as surging energy prices have heightened concerns about higher inflation.
Affordability for some buyers appears to be supported by more properties available, but inventory levels remain below historical norms. NAR reported 1.47 million unsold homes at the end of April, up 5.8% from March and up 1.4% from April last year. The figure was the highest month-end inventory for April going back to 2019, when April inventory stood at 1.83 million homes.
Even with the increase, inventory remains short of the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the COVID-19 pandemic. April’s month-end inventory corresponds to a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace. A 5- to 6-month supply is traditionally considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.
Yun said the market needs more supply to improve. “We really need to see 30% growth in inventory, but we’re not really seeing that,” he said.
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