U.S. Existing Home Sales Ease During April; Home Prices Move Up
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sales are lowest since September.
- Decline is sharp in two regions of the country.
- Median sales price strengthens.
Existing home sales slipped 0.5% (-2.0% y/y) in April to 4.00 million units after declining an unrevised 5.9% to 4.020 million units in March and rising 4.4% in February to 4.27 million, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 4.10 million unit sales. The April sales decline accompanied a rise in the effective 30-year mortgage interest rate to an average 6.73% in April from 6.65% in March. The sales figures are based on closings of sales signed over the past couple of months.
Existing single-family home sales eased 0.3% (-1.4% y/y) during April to 3.63 million units after a 6.4% decrease to 3.640 million in March and a 5.7% rise to 3.89 million in February. Sales of condos and co-ops weakened 2.6% (-7.5% y/y) to 370,000 after holding steady in March.
Sales patterns were mixed across the country last month. Sales in the West fell 3.9% (-1.3% y/y) to 740,000 after a 9.4% decline during March. Sales in the Northeast declined 2.0% (unchanged y/y) to 480,000, off for the fourth straight month. Sales in the South held steady (-3.2% y/y) at 1.81 million after a 5.7% March decline. Sales in the Midwest rose 2.1% (-1.0% y/y) to 970,000 units after falling 5.0% in March.
The median price average of all existing homes (NSA) jumped 2.7% (1.8% y/y) to $414,000 in April after a 1.6% March increase. Prices remained below a high of $426,900 in June 2024. The median price of an existing single-family home rose 2.6% (1.7% y/y) to $418,000 in April and the median price of condos & co-ops increased 2.0% (1.4% y/y) to $370,100 last month. Prices for homes in the West rose 1.2% (-0.2% y/y) to $628,500 while prices in the Northeast increased 4.1% (6.3% y/y) to $487,400. In the South, prices rose 1.5% (-0.1% y/y) to $365,300 while in the Midwest home prices increased 4.1% (3.6% y/y) to $313,300.
The number of existing homes for sale (NSA) rose 9.0% (20.8% y/y) to 1.45 million units in April following an 8.1% March increase. The supply of homes on the market at the current selling rate (NSA) increased to 4.4 months, the highest since May 2020, up from a low of 1.6 months in January 2022.
The data on existing home sales, prices and affordability are compiled by the National Association of Realtors. The data on single-family home sales extend back to February 1968. Total sales and price data and regional sales can be found in Haver's USECON database. Regional price and affordability data and national inventory data are available in the REALTOR database. Mortgage interest rates can be found in the WEEKLY database. The expectations figure is from the Action Economics Forecast Survey, reported in the AS1REPNA database.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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