Blog
Even With Mortgage Rates Low, Home Sales Fell in April
May 22, 2019
The spring home buying season is off to a shaky start. Home sales fell 0.4 percent in April from the month before. This amounted to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.19 million units. Home sales for the month were down 4.4 percent from the same month a year earlier. This marks the 14th straight month where year-over-year sales have declined.
Mortgage rates have fallen precipitously in recent months, so a strong month of sales was expected. Availability continues to be an issue, and new construction continues to be sluggish. Nearly 90 percent of the month’s sales came from existing homes. Affordability is also holding back sales. The median price for the month was $267,300, an annual increase of 3.6 percent. Prices have seen annual increases for the last 86 months.
