A “for sale” sign is in a house in Miami, Florida, American on April 16, 2025.
Marco Bello | Reuters
Higher mortgage rates and concerns about the economy in general made a low start for the very important spring housing market.
Sales of houses previously owned in March fell 5.9% from February to 4.02 million units on a seasonal adjusted annualized basis, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were less than 2.4% in March of last year.
Sales have dropped in all regions of months in months, but dropped the west the hardest, down more than 9%. It is the most expensive region in the country. The West, however, was the only region to see a gain from one year to the next, due to a strong activity in the States of the Rocky Mountain where the growth in employment is strong.
This count is based on closures, so contracts probably signed in January and February, when the average rate of the 30 -year -old people’s fixed mortgage was greater than 7%. He did not drop securely below 7% before February 20, according to Mortgage News Daily.
“The purchase and sale of houses remained slow in March due to the challenges of affordability associated with high mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “The mobility of residential housing, currently in historic stockings, points out the embarrassing possibility of less economic mobility for society.”
Sales have dropped despite a sharp increase in the available lists. At the end of March, there were 1.33 million units for sale, an increase of almost 20% compared to March 2024. At the current sale rate, which is equivalent to an offer of 4 months, which is still on the lean side. A 6 -month supply is considered a balanced market between the buyer and the seller.
More inventory and slower sales are starting to put the cold on prices. The median price of an existing house sold in March was $ 403,700. It is always a summit of all time for the month, but it has only 2.7% compared to last March. This annual comparison has decreased since December and has been the smallest gain since August.
“In contrast striking with the equity and bond markets, the wealth of households in residential real estate continues to reach new heights,” said Yun. “With an assessment of real estate assets at 52 billions of dollars, according to the funds of the Federal Reserve, each gain in percentage of the prices of the houses adds more than $ 500 billion to the household balance sheet.”
The first buyers represented 32% of the market in March, the same as this month of last year. Historically, they represent around 40%.
Sales of all cases fell to 26% compared to 28% the previous year, but investors stabilized at 15% of sales.
