Washington, D.C., May 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
Key Highlights
- Existing-home sales slid 0.5% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million. Sales retreated 2.0% from one year ago.
- The median existing-home sales price rose 1.8% from April 2024 to $414,000, an all-time high for the month of April and the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
- The inventory of unsold existing homes bounced 9.0% from the previous month to 1.45 million at the end of April, or the equivalent of 4.4 months’ supply at the current monthly sales pace.
Existing-home sales slowed in April, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Sales dipped in the Northeast and West, grew in the Midwest and were unchanged in the South. Year-over-year, sales declined in three regions and remained steady in the Northeast.
Total existing-home sales[1] – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – slipped 0.5% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million in April. Year-over-year, sales descended 2.0% (down from 4.08 million in April 2024).
“Home sales have been at 75% of normal or pre-pandemic activity for the past three years, even with seven million jobs added to the economy,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Pent-up housing demand continues to grow, though not realized. Any meaningful decline in mortgage rates will help release this demand.”
Total housing inventory[2] registered at the end of April was 1.45 million units, up 9.0% from March and 20.8% from one year ago (1.2 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.0 months in March and 3.5 months in April 2024.
The median existing-home price[3] for all housing types in April was $414,000, up 1.8% from one year ago ($406,600). The Northeast and Midwest posted price increases, and the South and West registered price decreases.
“At the macro level, we are still in a mild seller’s market,” Yun said. “But with the highest inventory levels in nearly five years, consumers are in a better situation to negotiate for better deals.”
REALTORS® Confidence Index
According to the monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index, properties typically remained on the market for 29 days in April, down from 36 days in March but up from 26 days in April 2024.
First-time home buyers were responsible for 34% of sales in April, up from 32% in March and 33% in April 2024. NAR’s 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – released November 2024[4] – found that the annual share of first-time home buyers was 24%, the lowest ever recorded.
Cash sales accounted for 25% of transactions in April, down from 26% in March and 28% in April 2024.
Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 15% of homes in …