WASHINGTON - Existing home sales fell 2.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted 4.48 million-unit rate, after an upwardly revised 4.60 million rate in February, originally reported as 4.59 million units, the National Association of Realtors announced Thursday.
The March figure came up short of the projection provided by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, who had predicted 4.62 million sales.
Sales were up 5.2% from a 4.26 million unit sales pace last March.
Inventory levels declined 1.3% at the end of March to 2.37 million existing homes for sale, representing a 6.3-month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from last month’s report.
Meanwhile, the national median existing home price was $156,600 in March, up 0.3% from a year ago.
Distressed homes — foreclosures and short sales, which sell at deep discounts — accounted for 29% of March sales, down from 34% in February and 40% in March 2011.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that despite the two consecutive months of decline, the year still holds the promise of being the strongest in a long time because first quarter sales were the strongest since 2007.
“If we could hold at this level, it would represent the highest annual sales activity in five years,” Yun said. He added that indicators of market confidence suggest the pace seems to be “very sustainable.”
“We think that home sales will remain at 4.5, 4.6 (million) throughout the remainder of the year,” said Yun.
