Nationally, existing home sales recently dropped to a 6-month low, falling 7.2% as buyers struggled to find a home amid rising prices and historic low inventory. Pending sales are also down, declining 4.1% as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Builders are working hard to ramp up production—the U.S. Census Bureau reports housing starts are up 22.3% compared to a year ago—but higher construction costs and increasing sales prices continue to hamper new home sales, despite high demand for additional supply.
- Single Family Closed Sales were down 17.5 percent to 1,763.
- Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales were down 15.9 percent to 471.
- Adult Communities Closed Sales were up 3.3 percent to 63.
- Single Family Median Sales Price increased 6.6 percent to $485,000.
- Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price increased 8.3 percent to $325,000.
- Adult Communities Median Sales Price increased 5.1 percent to $389,000.
Across the country, consumers are feeling the bite of inflation and surging mortgage interest rates, which recently hit 4.6% in March, according to Freddie Mac, rising 1.4 percent since January and the highest rate in more than 3 years. Monthly payments have increased significantly compared to this time last year, and as housing affordability declines, an increasing number of would-be homebuyers are turning to the rental market, only to face similar challenges as rental prices skyrocket and vacancy rates remain at near-record low.