Home Sales, Continue to Fall as, Mortgage Rates Remain High.
In March, sales of previously-occupied homes in the U.S. fell while prices edged lower for the second consecutive month.
'The Independent' reports that the news comes amid a slow start to the spring homebuying season.
Potential homebuyers have been struggling with increased mortgage rates and an almost record-low number of properties available on the market.
On April 20, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said that existing home sales dropped 2.4% to an adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million.
According to FactSet, that's even lower than the 4.5 million home sales anticipated by economists.
Compared to March of 2022, sales were down 22% this year.
According to the NAR, the national median home price slipped 0.9% to reach $375,700.
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'The Independent' reports that is the largest annual median home price drop since January of 2012.
Meanwhile, the average long-term rate on a 30-year mortgage climbed to 6.73%, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for homebuyers.
In the fall, rates reached a twenty-year high of 7.08% following a string of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
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In the fall, rates reached a twenty-year high of 7.08% following a string of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
