Previously owned home sales fell by 3.4% in April compared to March, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Thursday.
Prices declined from a year ago by the biggest margin in more than 11 years, the monthly report said. April sales fell by 23.2% from a year earlier.
The group also reported in a press release:
— The median existing-home sales price slipped 1.7% from one year ago to $388,800.
— The inventory of unsold existing homes increased 7.2% from the previous month to 1.04 million at the end of April.
— Only 1% of the sales were from foreclosed or distressed properties.
— All regions of the country reported slowdowns.
“Home sales are bouncing back and forth but remain above recent cyclical lows,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the news release. “The combination of job gains, limited inventory and fluctuating mortgage rates over the last several months have created an environment of push-pull housing demand.”
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.35% as of May 11, according to Freddie Mac. It was 6.39% last week and 5.30% one year ago.
