Existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly saw further downside in the month of April, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday.
NAR said existing home sales fell by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.00 million in April after plunging by 5.9 percent to a rate of 4.02 million in March. Economists had expected existing home sales to jump by 2.0 percent to a rate of 4.10 million.
“Home sales have been at 75% of normal or pre-pandemic activity for the past three years, even with seven million jobs added to the economy,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
“Pent-up housing demand continues to grow, though not realized,” he added. “Any meaningful decline in mortgage rates will help release this demand.”
The report said housing inventory at the end of April totaled 1.45 million units, up 9.0 percent from 1.33 million units at the end of March and up 20.8 percent from 1.20 million units a year ago
The unsold inventory represents 4.4 months of supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.0 months in March and 3.5 months in April 2024.
The median existing home price was $414,000 in April, up 1.8 percent from $406,600 in the same month a year ago.
“At the macro level, we are still in a mild seller’s market,” Yun said. “But with the highest inventory levels in nearly five years, consumers are in a better situation to negotiate for better deals.”
On Friday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release a separate report on new home sales in the month of April.
Economists currently expect new home sales to tumble by 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 692,000 in April after spiking by 7.4 percent to a rate of 724,000 in March.
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