U.S. housing stall widens
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in March to their slowest pace in nine months, marking a weak start to the spring buying season. (clickorlando.com) RBC Economics described the market as in a 'deep freeze', saying sales are lower than the worst of the global financial crisis once adjusted for population. (rbc.com) Outside the U.S., Macquarie expects Australian housing price growth to slow to about 2.5% as higher rates and weaker spending weigh on demand. (afr.com)
The U.S. resale housing market lost more ground in March, with sales falling to a nine-month low just as the spring buying season began. (nar.realtor) Existing-home sales fell 3.6% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million in March, the National Association of Realtors said on April 13. Sales were down 1.0% from March 2025, and every major U.S. region posted a monthly decline. (nar.realtor) Inventory rose to 1.36 million homes at the end of March, up 3.0% from February and equal to 4.1 months of supply. The median existing-home price still climbed 1.4% from a year earlier to $408,800, extending a run of year-over-year price gains into March. (nar.realtor) The squeeze is still affordability. Freddie Mac said the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.37% on April 9, and RBC Economics said sales are now below the lows of the 2007 to 2009 housing crash after adjusting for population growth. (freddiemac.com, rbc.com) RBC said the market is stuck between owners who do not want to give up older low-rate mortgages and buyers facing high borrowing costs and record-high ownership expenses. The bank said that combination has kept turnover unusually weak even with more listings coming onto the market. (rbc.com) Other housing gauges show the same slowdown. S&P Cotality Case-Shiller data showed national home prices were up 0.9% in January from a year earlier, the smallest annual gain since June 2023, while mortgage purchase applications for the week ended April 3 were still 7% below a year earlier. (fred.stlouisfed.org, newsbreak.com) The weakness is not confined to the United States. Macquarie told The Australian Financial Review that it expects Australian home-price growth to slow to about 2.5% as interest rates and softer household spending weigh on demand. (afr.com) For now, the spring market looks busier on the supply side than on the sales side: more homes are being listed, but fewer deals are closing. That leaves prices rising slowly, turnover subdued, and the freeze RBC described still in place. (nar.realtor, rbc.com)
