Sales of existing homes rose 1.7 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.
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In the Midwest, existing home sales increased 12.1% to an annual rate of 1.39 million in April and are now 12.1% higher than April 2015 sales.
April’s uptick to the highest level since January follows a choppy first quarter that saw sales tumble in February then partially recover in March.
The report said the median price for an existing home was USD232,500 in April, up 5% from USD221,500 in March and up 6.3% from USD218,700 in the same month a year ago.
But demand continues to grow, especially in more affordable regions like the Midwest.
All-cash sales were 24 percent of transactions in April, down from 25 percent in March and unchanged from a year ago.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales rising to a 5.40 million-unit pace last month.
Still, affordability remains a key issue.
After reporting a significant rebound in USA existing home sales in the previous month, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Friday showing that sales sustained the upward momentum in the month of April.
‘Student debt is crushing young people, it’s hurting the nation’s economy and delaying the opportunity for many to buy their first home. In the Midwest, the most affordable region in the country, sales soared 12.1% in April from the prior month.
Regionally, there was a strong 12.1% increase in the Midwest with sales also 12.1% higher than a year ago, while sales climbed slightly for the Northeast.
This follows an upwardly revised 5.36 million sales of existing homes registered in March. That was an increase of 6.3 per cent from one year ago.
-At the current pace, it would take 4.7 months to sell those homes, compared with 4.4 months in March.
“Inadequate supply probably represents the biggest impediment to faster sales right now”, said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities. Almost a million new units are under construction, according to the Commerce Department, which should eventually provide some relief to the tight inventory picture.
OH real estate groups lump together new and existing homes, while national trade groups separate them.
Existing home sales in the South dropped 2.7% in April to an annual rate of 2.19 million, and they are now 4.3% above April 2015 sales.
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According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell from 3.69 % in March to 3.61% in April, which is the lowest since May 2013 (3.54%).
