April Existing Home Sales Higher for Second Consecutive Month

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in April rose 1.7% to 5.45 million from an upwardly revised total of 5.36 million in March.

The consensus estimate called for sales to reach 5.4 million, according to a survey of economists polled by Bloomberg.

The NAR’s chief economist said:

Primarily driven by a convincing jump in the Midwest, where home prices are most affordable, sales activity overall was at a healthy pace last month as very low mortgage rates and modest seasonal inventory gains encouraged more households to search for and close on a home. Except for in the West — where supply shortages and stark price growth are hampering buyers the most — sales are meaningfully higher than a year ago in much of the country.

Housing inventory increased by 9.2% in April, to 2.14 million homes, which is equal to a supply of 4.7 months, an increase from 4.4 months in March.

According to the NAR, the national median existing home price for all housing types in April was $232,500, up 6.3% compared with April 2015, the 49th consecutive month of rising home prices. In March the national median price was $222,700.

The percentage of first-time buyers rose to 32% in April, an increase of two points both year over year and month over month.

Sales of single-family homes rose 0.6% from the March total to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million, and up 6.2% compared with April 2015. Sales of multifamily homes rose 10.3 in April at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000 units.

All homes were on the market for an average of 39 days in April, down from 47 days in March. Foreclosed and non-distressed homes were on the market for an average of 51 and 37 days, respectively, and short sales took a median of 120 days to sell.

The NAR also reported the following regional data:

• April existing home sales in the Northeast rose 2.8% year over year to an annual rate of 740,000 and are now 17.5% above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $636,000, up 4.1% compared with April 2015.
• In the Midwest, existing home sales increased 12.1% to an annual rate of 1.39 million in April and are now 12.1% higher than April 2015 sales. The median price in the Midwest was $184,200, up 7.7% from a year ago.
• Existing home sales in the South dropped 2.7% in April to an annual rate of 2.19 million, and they are now 4.3% above April 2015 sales. The median price in the South was $202,800, up 6.5% from a year ago.
• Existing home sales in the West fell by 1.7% to an annual rate of 1.13 million in April and are now 3.4% lower than a year ago. The median price in the West was $335,000, up 6.5% compared with the April 2015 median.