Home sales dip for a second consecutive month
According to the the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home sales fell 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted 5.77 million units in March from February. Home sales fell across all regions in the U.S. from February.
With slower demand, the inventory of unsold existing homes increased to 950,000 as of the end of March.
The results were expected as pending home sales, an indicator of actual housing sales since it represents signed contracts, have fallen four straight months. The housing market has been stymied by the ongoing lack of homes for sale.
Regardless of the numbers above, rates are still low from a historical perspective. Existing home sales and prices are slowing now but will pick up again due to shortages of new housing and fewer people willing to sell their existing home because inflation is so high. We’re still not there, but if the rates keep climbing, there is going to be a significant slowdown before the end of the year (i.e. significantly more than the -2.7% above).