Nationally, existing home sales jumped 14.5% month-over-month as of the last measure, the first monthly gain in 12 months, and representing the largest monthly increase since July 2020, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The sudden uptick in sales activity stems from contracts signed toward the beginning of the year, when mortgage rates dipped to the low 6% range, causing a surge in homebuyer activity. Pending sales have continued to improve heading into spring, increasing for the third consecutive month, according to NAR.
New listings decreased by 13.4% for residential homes and 12.4% for townhouse/condo homes. Pending sales decreased by 16% for residential homes and 22.1% for townhouse/condo homes. Inventory increased by 5.1% for residential homes and 0.6% for townhouse/condo homes.
Median sales price increased 4.8% to $262,000 for residential homes and 4.3% to $208,500 for townhouse/condo homes. Days on market increased by 25% for residential homes but decreased by 11.4% for townhouse/condo homes. Months supply of inventory increased by 27.3% for residential homes and 30% for townhouse/condo homes.
Monthly sales might have been even higher if not for limited inventory nationwide. At the current sales pace, there was just 2.6 months’ supply of existing homes at the beginning of March, far below the 4-6 months’ supply of a balanced market. Inventory remains suppressed in part because of mortgage interest rates, which nearly hit 7% before falling again in recent weeks. Higher rates have continued to put downward pressure on sales prices, and for the first time in more than a decade, national home prices were lower year-over-year, according to NAR, breaking a 131-month streak of annual price increases.
