Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes barely moved in April, rising 0.2% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units. That was unchanged from a year earlier and came in below the roughly 4.12 million pace economists had expected, a sign the real estate market is still struggling to break out of a two-year slump.
The market has hovered close to a 4-million annual pace since 2023, far below the historic norm of about 5.2 million. The April reading matters because it came during the busiest part of the spring selling season, when activity usually picks up rather than stalls.
Home prices kept climbing anyway. The median U.S. sales price rose 0.9% from a year earlier to $417,700, an all-time high for any April in data going back to 1999. Prices have risen on an annual basis for 34 months in a row, even as sales have remained weak.
The latest report also showed 1.47 million unsold homes at the end of April, up 5.8% from March and 1.4% from a year earlier. That was the most homes on the market for an April since 2019, but still well short of the roughly 2 million homes that were typical before the pandemic. The inventory level translated to a 4.4-month supply, below the 5- to 6-month supply usually viewed as balanced between buyers and sellers.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said this spring’s market has not shown the pickup many had hoped for. He said there is not yet any sign of year-over-year growth in homebuying through April, and that the market really needs about 30% more inventory before conditions start to normalize.
The sluggish tone is rooted in 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from pandemic-era lows and the housing market entered a slump. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low, and they remained sluggish through the first three months of this year, when they also declined from a year earlier. Homes bought in April likely went under contract in February and March, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 5.98% to 6.38%; it was 5.98% in February, the lowest level in three and a half years. The average rate was 6.37% last week, keeping affordability under pressure.
Inventory has improved from a year ago, but not enough to restore balance, and prices are still rising despite weak turnover. That leaves the housing market in a familiar holding pattern: more homes for sale than last year, but not enough buyers to push sales back toward normal.
