WASHINGTON — Home resales rose by 1.1% in March to an annual rate of 5.60 million, ahead of expectations for a second straight 5.54 million pace, but down 1.2% from a year earlier, data released by the National Association of Realtors reported Monday showed.
February sales were unrevised at the originally reported 5.54 million annual rate.
Single-family sales rose 0.6% in March, while the more-volatile condo sales were up 5.2%. However, both sectors were down from a year earlier.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told reporters that the March figure was above the pace seen in 2017, a positive sign. But he repeated that low inventories and the resulting boost in home prices has had a depressing effect on the sales pace.
The number of housing units available for sale rose 5.7% in March to a total of 1.67 million homes, lifting the months supply to 3.6 months at the current sales pace from 3.4 months in February. However, this is the result of the usual start of the spring selling season. When compared to March 2017, home supply is down 7.2% and the month supply is down from 3.8 months a year ago.
Yun did note that recent home building data has been positive for some improvement in inventory levels later in the year.
Sales were up solidly in the Northeast and Midwest regions, but declined in the South and West regions. Yun noted sales on lower-priced homes are being impacted by very slim inventory.
March's national median price of $250,400 was up 5.8% from a year earlier, a direct result of the slim inventory levels according to Yun.
