A continuing environment of high rates and a case of tariff jitters dampened buyer enthusiasm for real estate in March, according to the latest figures.
Sales slipped 5.9% to an annual 4.02 million deals on a March-to-March basis.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said the market remained on a “solid footing” and blamed one reason for the March result as a historic low in housing mobility.
It said this trend signaled a “troublesome possibility of less economic mobility for society” – in other words, fewer people moving for family or career opportunities.
This doesn’t appear to stop values from rising, however.
The median price climbed 2.7% to $403,700 – a March record. Twelve months ago, the median home price was $392,000.
Our market has now registered its 21st consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
The American market is flirting with another record, too – the lowest number of mortgage delinquencies.
NAR said this fact alone showed the market was on a “solid footing”.
As a national asset, real estate is valued at $52 trillion by the Federal Reserve Flow of Funds.
NAR data said there were 1.33 million unsold properties on the market right now – an increase of 8.1% on February’s number.
However, expectations of a strong spring and summer sales seasons are mounting as homes are proving quicker to sell.
NAR’s Realtors Confidence Index shows the average property took 36 days to sell – a significant improvement on the 42 days recorded in February.
First-time buyers accounted for almost a third of all deals (32%), another remarkable improvement on recent data. In November, first homebuyers were 24% of the market.
Meanwhile, data from Freddie Mac said the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.83% as of mid-April, down from 7.1% a year ago – another positive sign.