Houses are more expensive than ever
The National Association of Realtors released existing home sales data Thursday morning, including a record-breaking median price for an existing home: $329,100.
The median existing-single-family home sales price also hit a record high of $334,500.
"Consumers are facing much higher home prices, rising mortgage rates, and falling affordability, however, buyers are still actively in the market," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist.
Meanwhile, existing home sales in March fell 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.01 million. Compared to a year ago when the pandemic first began to cause lockdowns, the pace of existing home sales are up 12.3%.
Inventory restraints continue to weigh down home sales. “The sales for March would have been measurably higher, had there been more inventory," said Yun. "Days-on-market are swift, multiple offers are prevalent, and buyer confidence is rising."
As of the end of March, housing inventory slightly rose to 1.07 million units, down by 28.2% year-over-year. Properties typically sold in 18 days, a record low.
Here’s the breakdown of the regional existing home sales activity:
Northeast:
• Existing home sales rate of 760,000 is down 1.3% from February.
• Median home price of $364,800, up 21.4% from a year ago.
Midwest
• Existing home sales rate of 1,280,000 is down 2.3 % from February.
• Median home price of $248,200, up 13.5% from a year ago.
South
• Existing home sales rate of 2,700,000 is down 2.9% from February.
• Median home price of $283,900, up 15.6% from a year ago.
West
• Existing home sales rate of 1,270,000 is down 8.0% from February.
• Median home price of $493,300, up 16.8% from a year ago.