Existing home sales in the United States fell in April, the second month in a row to see a decline, but prices continue to increase, the latest index data shows.
Two of the four major US regions saw a slight dip in sales, while the West saw growth and the Midwest was essentially unchanged, according to the figures from the National Association of Realtors.
Overall sales fell by 0.4% from March and they are now down 4.4% from a year ago but Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said he is not overly concerned about the dip in sales and expects moderate growth very soon.
‘We are seeing historically low mortgage rates combined with a pent-up demand to buy, so buyers will look to take advantage of these conditions. Also, job creation is improving, causing wage growth to align with home price growth, which helps affordability and will help spur more home sales,’ he added.
The data also show that the median price for all housing types in April was $267,300, up 3.6% from April 2018 and the 86th straight month of year on year price gains.
Total housing inventory at the end of April increased to 1.83 million, up from 1.67 million existing homes available for sale in March and a 1.7% increase from 1.8 million a year ago.
A breakdown of the figures shows that sales in the Northeast decreased 4.5% to an annual rate of 640,000, some 4.5% below a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $277,700, up 0.9% from April 2018.
In the Midwest, existing home sales saw relatively no percentage change from the month prior, as the annual rate remained 1.17 million, which is 7.9% below April 2018 levels. The median price in the Midwest was $210,500, an increase of 5.5% from a year ago.
Existing home sales in the South dropped 0.4% to an annual rate of 2.27 million in April, down 1.7% from a year ago. The median price in the South was $236,800, up 4.4% from a year ago.
In the West sales increased by 1.8% to an annual rate of 1.11 million in April, 5.9% below a year ago. The median price in the West was $395,100, up 1.3% from April 2018.
