The National Association of Realtors says that sales of existing homes fell in March to a rate of 5.77 million units. February's reading was revised downward from 6.02 million units to 5.93 million.
March sales were lower than in the previous year.
The contracts were signed in January and February, when mortgage rates began to rise but had not yet shot up as they did in March. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage went up to 3.9% by the end of February from 3.0% at the beginning of the month. The 30-year fixed rate is 5.35%.
The market for buyers was already expensive. The median price of an existing home sold in March was $375,300, an increase of 15% from March 2021. That is the highest median price ever recorded.
The average homeowner is paying about 38% more on their monthly payment now than they would have done a year ago.
The supply of homes for sale is incredibly low, and this has led to a rise in prices. There were 950,00 homes for sale at the end of March, a decrease of 9.5% from a year ago. The two-month supply is at the current sales pace.
The lowest end of the market has the worst supply of homes for sale.
Sales of homes priced between $100,000 and $250,000 were down 21% compared with a year ago, while sales of homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million rose 30%. There was a 25% sales increase for homes priced above $1 million.
The reason for the shortage is that builders have been underproduced since the foreclosure crisis.
The average days on the market for homes that are for sale are 17 days, down from 18 a year ago. Cash is king. It made up 28% of all sales in March.
There have been increases in fresh listings in the past week according to the data from Realtor.com.
Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com, said in a release that it is a good time to list a home for sale.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
