March home sales slow

U.S. sales of previously owned homes fell in March to a 3.98 million annual pace, the slowest level since June 2025. (nar.realtor) The National Association of Realtors said sales dropped 3.6% from February and 1.0% from a year earlier, with month-to-month declines in all four regions. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 4.06 million pace. (nar.realtor) (finance.yahoo.com) Inventory rose to 1.36 million homes in March, up 3.0% from February, but that still amounted to only a 4.1-month supply. Lawrence Yun, the trade group’s chief economist, said the market needs another 300,000 to 500,000 listings to look closer to normal. (nar.realtor) (finance.yahoo.com) Prices kept climbing even as sales slowed. The national median existing-home price rose 1.4% from a year earlier to $408,800, the highest March price in National Association of Realtors records going back to 1999. (nar.realtor) (abcnews.com) That mix of fewer sales, limited supply, and rising prices has defined the resale market since mortgage rates jumped in 2022. Sales of previously occupied homes stayed near 30-year lows in 2025 and have hovered around a 4 million annual pace since 2023, far below the historical norm of about 5.2 million. (abcnews.com) The March report also pushed the Realtors group to cut its 2026 forecast. It now expects existing-home sales to rise about 4% this year, down from a prior 14% projection, while leaving its home-price forecast at a 4% increase. (nar.realtor) Mortgage costs are part of the reset. Reuters reported that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.37% last week, up from 5.98% before the recent jump in Treasury yields, and the Realtors group’s affordability index fell to 113.7 in March from 117.5 in February. (finance.yahoo.com) Yun said lower consumer confidence and softer job growth are holding back buyers, while Bankrate analyst Jeff Ostrowski said many owners are still locked into older, cheaper mortgages and staying put. That keeps resale supply tight even when borrowing costs briefly ease. (nar.realtor) (mynews4.com) The spring selling season usually builds into May and June, but March opened with less activity than brokers wanted to see. For buyers, the market is still defined by too few homes, high monthly payments, and prices that have not stopped rising. (mynews4.com)