A healthy month-over-month national rise in existing home sales was bested by even bigger increases in the Northeast and Midwest.
U.S. real estate agents and brokers completed the sale of existing homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million in March.
Monthly sales volume is a reflection of completed transactions on single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-operatives.
The volume data, which was announced Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors, indicated that sales were better than the downwardly revised 5.07 million rate the previous month.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted in the report that sales rebounded nicely following February’s uncharacteristically large decline.
“Closings came back in force last month as a greater number of buyers — mostly in the Northeast and Midwest — overcame depressed inventory levels and steady price growth to close on a home,” Yun stated.
Sales also ascended from the same month last year, when
the previously reported annual rate was 5.19 million.
Single-family home sales rose 6 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million, while condominium and co-op sales increased 2 percent to a rate of 0.570 million units during March.
Total sales in the Northeast surged 11 percent from the last report to an annual rate of 0.700 million. In the Midwest, sales climbed 10 percent, while they were up 3 percent in the South and 2 percent in the West.
As of the end of last month, there were 1.98 million existing U.S. homes for sale. The total housing inventory was down from 2.01 million in the year-earlier report.
March’s sales followed 47 days of average home marketing time, plummeting from 59 days on the market one month earlier. Days numbered 52 in March 2015.
Unsold inventory sat at a 4.5-month supply as of the end of last month, a little more than 4.4 months in February.
First-time buyers were responsible for 30 percent of the latest month’s business, while all-cash share was 25 percent, and distressed sales made up 8 percent of overall activity.
Median home prices escalated 6 percent from a year prior to $222,700, NAR said.
“Buyer demand remains sturdy in most areas this spring and the mid-priced market is doing quite well,” Yun said. “However, sales are softer both at the very low and very high ends of the market because of supply limitations and affordability pressures.”
