Bigger. Better. Bolder. Inman Connect is heading to San Diego. Join thousands of real estate pros, connect with the Inman Community and gain insights from hundreds of leading minds shaping the industry. If you’re ready to grow your business and invest in yourself, this is where you need to be. Go BIG in San Diego!
Existing-home sales continued to decline in April, data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows. Despite signs of rising inventory and resilient buyer interest, affordability challenges continue to weigh on sales.
Total existing-home sales declined 0.5 percent from March to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4 million in April. Year over year, sales declined 2 percent compared to April 2024’s rate of 4.08 million. Sales decreased in two of the four major U.S. regions.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR MAY
“Home sales have been at 75 percent of normal or pre-pandemic activity for the past three years, even with seven million jobs added to the economy,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the data analysis. “Pent-up housing demand continues to grow, though not realized. Any meaningful decline in mortgage rates will help release this demand.”
Lawrence Yun | NAR Chief Economist
Inventory showed notable improvement, reaching 1.45 million units in April, up 9 percent from March, and 20.8 percent higher than a year ago. At the current sales pace, that translates to a 4.4-month supply of homes, an increase from 4.0 months in March 2025 and 3.5 months in April 2024.
Despite the overall slowdown in sales, prices continued to edge higher. The median existing-home sale price across all housing types rose 1.8 percent year over year to $414,000.
“At the macro level, we are still in a mild seller’s market,” Yun added. “But with the highest inventory levels in nearly five years, consumers are in a better situation to negotiate for better deals.”
Homes typically spent 29 days on the market in April, down from 36 days in March and up 26 days in April 2024, according to the monthly Realtors Confidence Index.
First-time homebuyers accounted for 34 percent of transactions in April, up slightly from 32 percent in March and 33 percent one year earlier.
Cash deals made up 25 percent of total sales, a modest decrease from 26 percent in March and 28 percent in April 2024. Individual investors and second-home buyers — who often pay in cash — purchased just 1 percent of homes, virtually unchanged from March but down 16 percent year over year.
By housing type, single-family sales slipped 0.3 percent from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.63 million, representing a 1.4 percent decline from April 2024. Meanwhile, sales of existing condominiums and co-op sales declined 2.6 percent to a rate of 370,000 units, down 7.5 percent from the previous year.
By region
- In the Northeast, existing-home sales dropped 2 percent from March to an annual rate of 480,000. The median price rose 6.3 percent annually to $487,400.
- In the Midwest, existing-home sales increased 2.1 percent from March to an annual rate of 970,000. The median price rose 3.6 percent to $313,300.
- In the South, existing-home sales were unchanged from March at an annual rate of 1.81 million. The median price declined 0.1 percent to $$365,300.
- In the West, existing-home sales dropped 3.9 percent from March to an annual rate of 740,000. The median price declined 0.2 percent to $628,500.
