Existing home sales fell for the third month in a row, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR)
- M-O-M: Total existing-home sales fell 2.7% from March to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.85 million in April.
- Y-O-Y: Total existing -home sales jumped 33.9% when compared to the same time a year ago.
Low inventory is, of course, the continued culprit causing this decline in home sales. There, however, was some good news on that front…
- M-O-M: Total housing inventory actually increased 10.5% at the end of April which amounted to 1.16 million units.
- Y-O-Y: However, not surprisingly, these numbers still represent a 20.5% decline from one year ago.
Sales may have been down, but prices were way up. The median existing-home price was $341,600. This is a 19.1% jump from April 2020. This is a record high and marks 110 straight months of year-over-year gains.
- Regionally, the Northeast lead the way with 22% appreciation ($381,100) followed by the West with 19.9% growth ($501,200), the South was up 15.8% ($289.600), and the Midwest saw 13.5% growth ($259,300)
Despite three months of declines Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist was hopeful the year would bring more inventory. “We’ll see more inventory come to the market later this year as further COVID-19 vaccinations are administered and potential home sellers become more comfortable listing and showing their homes. The falling number of homeowners in mortgage forbearance will also bring about more inventory.”