March Existing Home Sales: A Bright Outlook

• March existing home sales fell 3.7% from February to 6.01 million (SAAR), but were up 12.3% from a year ago -- when the pandemic first started impacting housing activity -- according to the National Association of Realtors.
• The median existing-home sales price in March rose 17.2% year-over-year, the fastest annual pace ever recorded by NAR, to $329,100.
• Total inventory rose 3.9% from February, but was down 28.2% year-over-year.

Sales of existing homes were relatively cool in March as the impact of February’s adverse weather and sluggish listing activity to start the year continued to trickle through the market, outweighing more-recent improvements. Existing home sales are measured at the time of closing, rather than contract signing, so March’s numbers partially reflect market activity that took place in February -- when new listing activity was particularly sluggish in the face of ongoing pandemic anxiety and harsh winter weather. But while February’s weakness hampered the March sales figures, the sales outlook remains bright. Demand for housing remains very high as a wave of eager shoppers stoke competition for homes, pushing prices up quickly and time on market down precipitously. Applications for purchase mortgages improved in March after stalling in February, and listing activity has also picked up in recent weeks -- a welcome sign in an extremely competitive market.