Nationally, existing-home sales recently dropped to a 6-month low, falling 7.2% as buyers struggled to find a home amid rising prices and historic low inventory. Pending sales are also down, declining 4.1% as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Builders are working hard to ramp up production—the U.S. Census Bureau reports housing starts are up 22.3% compared to a year ago—but higher construction costs and increasing sales prices continue to hamper new home sales, despite high demand for additional supply.
New Listings were down 25.9 percent for single-family homes and 31.5 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Pending Sales decreased 2.1 percent for single-family homes and 10.1 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop properties.
The Median Sales Price was up 17.7 percent to $2,030,000 for single-family homes and 0.3 percent to $1,225,000 for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 46.4 percent for single-family units and 44.6 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop units.
Across the country, consumers are feeling the bite of inflation and surging mortgage interest rates, which recently hit 4.6% in March, according to Freddie Mac, rising 1.4 percent since January and the highest rate in more than 3 years. Monthly payments have increased significantly compared to this time last year, and as housing affordability declines, an increasing number of would-be homebuyers are turning to the rental market, only to face similar challenges as rental prices skyrocket and vacancy rates remain at near-record low.
