Existing-Home Sales Decline in March

After a promising start to the year, existing-home sales declined 4.3% in March, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million, according to the latest report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). This represents a 3.7% decline year-over-year (in March 2023, home sales were 4.35 million). 

After dropping to the lowest level in 30 years in December 2023, January 2024 offered a rebound—with existing-home sales continuing to surge in February. 

Continuing a nine-month streak of price gains, the median home price was $393,500. This is 4.8% higher than March 2023 ($375,300) and, according to NAR, the highest median price ever for the month of March.

Unsold inventory by March’s end was 1.11 million units, or 3.2 months’ worth of inventory. This is an increase of 2.9 months from February 2024 and 2.7 months from March 2023. 

According to the monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index, properties typically remained on the market for 33 days in March, down from 38 days in February but up from 29 days in March 2023.

Regional breakdown:

The home price gains rippled across all four major regions of the country:

• The Northeast: Existing-home sales climbed 4.2% from February to an annual rate of 500,000 in March, ending a four-month streak where sales in the Northeast registered 480,000 units. Compared to March 2023, home sales were down 3.8%. The median price in the Northeast was $434,600, up 9.9% from March 2023.
• The Midwest: Existing-home sales retracted 1.9% from one month ago to an annual rate of 1.01 million in March, down 1% from the prior year. The median price in the Midwest was $292,400, up 7.5% from March 2023.
• The South: Existing-home sales faded 5.9% from February to an annual rate of 1.9 million in March, down 5% from one year before. The median price in the South was $359,100, up 3.4% from March 2023.
• The West: Existing-home sales slumped 8.2% from a month ago to an annual rate of 780,000 in March, a decline of 3.7% from the previous year. The median price in the West was $603,000, up 6.7% from March 2023.

Expert takeaways:

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun offered this perspective in a press release:

“Though rebounding from cyclical lows, home sales are stuck because interest rates have not made any major moves. There are nearly six million more jobs now compared to pre-COVID highs, which suggests more aspiring homebuyers exist in the market. More inventory is always welcomed in the current environment. Frankly, it’s a great time to list, with ongoing multiple offers on mid-priced properties and, overall, home prices continuing to rise.”

Danielle Hale, realtor.com® chief economist, offered this assessment based on the site’s latest data:

“Data show that sellers are approaching the housing market with more realistic expectations this spring even as we approach the week that realtor.com® has identified as the Best Time to Sell a home. Only 12% of sellers expect to see a bidding war compared with 27% in 2023, and just 15% of sellers expect to see an above-asking price offer compared with 31% in 2023.

“Consistent with a more temperate outlook, sellers who have already listed homes are resorting to price reductions more often than historical data suggest is normal for this time of year, putting the trend back on par with pre-pandemic norms and making this one of the few aspects of the housing market that is comparable to that earlier period. It’s worth noting that there is significant variation in this trend across local markets. While just over one in five homes in Austin had a price reduction in March, this share is down from the more than one in four that had a reduction one year ago. Conversely, Florida markets like Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa are seeing a rising share of for-sale homes with price reductions.”

A&D Mortgage Founder and CEO Max Slyusarchuk commented:

“Existing-home sales returned to disappointing numbers, but it’s not a surprise. The supply of these homes is finite, ultimately, and with rates historically high for the near term, we don’t expect to see many more positive numbers in this particular housing sector anytime soon. We expect new-home sales to perform much better in the coming months, by comparison.”