Historically Tight Inventory Causes Home Sales To Drop in March
Existing home sales dropped in March largely as the result of tight inventory, reported the National Association of Realtors on Monday morning.
Between February and March, home sales declined 0.6 percent, to a rate of 4.92 million. Active for-sale inventory is at 1.93 million, which is 16.8 percent lower than it was one year ago.
From Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist:
“Buyer traffic is 25 percent above a year ago when we were already seeing notable gains in shopping activity. In the same timeframe, housing inventories have trended much lower, which is continuing to pressure home prices. The good news is home construction is rising and low mortgage rates are continuing to keep affordability conditions at historically favorable levels. The bad news is that underwriting standards remain excessively tight, while renters are getting squeezed by higher rents.”
Here are a few other interesting tidbits from today’s report:
- Home sales have been above year-ago levels for 21 consecutive months, while prices have shown year-over-year price increases for 13 consecutive months.
- Sales of homes priced over $500,000 rose 25 percent, year-over-year.
- If you take out distressed sales, home sales increased 25 percent annually, and 5 percent month-over-month.
- The median home price has increased to $184,300, rising 11.8 percent since last year. This is the strongest year-over-year increase since November 2005.
See other articles related to: existing home sales, national association of realtors
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/existing_home_sales_drop_in_march/6962.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
It has been a good start to the year for high-priced homes in the DC region.... read »
Roadside Development filed a sketch plan with Montgomery County this month for the 30... read »
The Matthew is located on 9th Street, overlooking the iconic Naylor Court and neighbo... read »
Dan Snyder donates house to charity; DC records priciest building sale since 2022; an... read »
This week's Best New Listings include an award-winning craftsman, a condo in a former... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro