2 weeks Ago By Associated Press
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed in March, a lackluster start to the spring homebuying season as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged home shoppers.
Existing home sales fell 5.9% last month from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
The March sales decline is the largest monthly drop since November 2022, when sales fell 6.7% from the previous month, and marks the slowest sales pace for the month of March going back to 2009. Sales also fell 2.
4% compared with March last year. The latest home sales fell short of the 4.12 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
The average cost of a U.S. mortgage, which climbed to its highest level in two months last week, is a significant barrier for would-be homebuyers, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.
Mortgage rates climbed to just above 7% in mid-January, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained mostly elevated, climbing last week to 6.83%, its highest level in eight weeks, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. The average rate eased this week to 6.
81%. Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in February and early March, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6.89% to 6.
63%, according to Freddie Mac. To drum up sales, homebuilders have ramped up sales incentives, such as paying to lower the initial rate on a homebuyer’s mortgage. Many builders have also shifted to their focus to smaller, less expensive homes.
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