In ‘Stark Contrast,’ Home Sales Fall, Ending a Long String of Increases

ARLINGTON, Va.—Existing home sales fell 2.4% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million units, a “stark contrast” to the 14.5% rise in February, NAFCU noted.

“Most buyers lock in rates a month prior to the purchase date, therefore, rising rates in February likely impacted March sales totals,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long. “A lack of inventory buoys prices in places that continue to see job growth, however, prices are moderating in the most expensive locales around the U.S.”

Existing home sales in March fell across three of the four regions, with the Midwest falling 5.5%, followed by the West (-3.5%), and South (-1%). Sales in the Northeast were flat. Based on current sales, there were 2.6 months of supply at the end of the month; analysts consider six months of inventory a rough balance between supply and demand, the data show.

In addition, the median existing-home price – not seasonally adjusted – rose 3.3% in March to 375,000, representing a decline of 0.9 compared to a year ago.

Streak is Over

“The median sales price on a year-over-year basis continued to decline for a second month in March, after ending the longest streak of increases on record in February,” noted Long. “While overall demand has been sensitive to rate changes, demand for starter homes remains extremely high, having a negative effect on median home price.”

Long added that housing sales should “recover gradually and unevenly” once the Federal Reserve stops raising rates and even begins to lower them.