Existing Home Sales - May Report
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Home Sales Pace

Sales of existing U.S. homes dipped for the second month in a row in March, according to the National Association of Realtors, but compared with last year, sales rose notably.

On a seasonally adjusted annual basis, there were 4.48 million home sales for March. Which was down 2.6 percent from February's upwardly revised 4.60 million-unit pace. Sales are also up 5.2 percent from March 2011 (sales that year totaled approximately 4.26 million on an annual basis).

The yearly growth has given the NAR reason to hope that the worst of the housing market is now behind us. The recovery is happening, though not at a breakout pace, but we have seen nine consecutive months of year-over-year sales increases," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist in a press release. "Existing-home sales are moving up and down in a fairly narrow range that is well above the level of activity during the first half of last year. With job growth, low interest rates, bargain home prices and an improving economy, the pent-up demand is coming to market and we expect housing to be notably better this year."

The national median price for existing homes was actually up for the second month in a row, rising to $163,800 in March from $155,600 in February. One year earlier, the median price was $159,800.

The NAR defines "existing homes" as all previously owned single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, and co-ops. The group "seasonally adjusts" the sales numbers to factor in things like inclement weather, school sessions, winter holidays, etc. to smooth out the trends.

The NAR also describes its sales data based on an annual pace. The monthly figure represents the total number of housing units that would be sold in one year if the current rate were to continue unchanged.

Sales Pace by Region

Regionally, sales fell everywhere, except the Midwest where sales were unchanged.

In the Northeast, sales decreased 1.7 percent to an annual rate of 580,000 from 590,000 in February, but were up 5.5 percent from the previous year.

Midwest existing home sales were unmoved at an annual pace of 1.02 million, but compared with the previous year sales jumped 15.9 percent.

In the South, sales declined by 1.1 percent to 1.75 million in March from 1.77 million homes the month before, and are up 3.6 percent from March 2011.

Sales in the West fell 7.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.13 million homes from 1.22 million in February. Since March 2011, sales have slipped 0.9 percent.

Home Prices

The median home price (the point at which half of all homes are sold for more and half are sold for less) rose everywhere on a monthly basis, and increased in all regions on a yearly basis except the Northeast.

In the Northeast, the median price moved up to $228,300 in March from $222,000 in February, but it was down 1.9 percent over the previous year.

The median price in the Midwest grew to $132,800 from $199,400 in February, and was also up 5.2 over the year earlier.

In the South, home prices increased to a median of $146,500 in March from $137,500, and it was up 6.2 percent from last year.

In the West, the median price grew to $198,300 from $195,300 in February, and rose 1.6 percent from March 2011.

Inventory

At the end of March, total housing inventory decreased 1.3 percent to 2.37 million existing homes on the market. At the current sales pace, that represents a 6.3-month supply, unchanged from February. Compared with one year earlier, inventory was down 21.8 percent.

Next Report

Data for April existing home sales, prices, and inventory will be available at the end of May.

Month-to-Month Appreciation Graphs, regional and nationwide - click here.