Home sales drop 2.4% in April as red-hot housing market shows signs of cooling, realtors say

The red-hot U.S. housing market may be cooling, according to a group of realtors, as sales of existing homes fell for the third straight month in April, even as prices remained eye-popping.

Existing-home sales, which make up the majority of U.S. home sales, fell 2.4% from March to April to the lowest level since the June 2020 Covid-19 sales slump, the National Association of Realtors said this week.

Rising home prices and sharply higher mortgage rates have reduced buyer activity, the group’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

“It looks like more declines are on the horizon in the coming months, and after a significant spike over the past two years, we may be returning to pre-pandemic home sales activity.”

Miami remains one of the hottest and most expensive real estate markets in the U.S., but a nationwide slowdown in pre-owned home sales suggests a “remarkable surge” is coming to an end, according to the National Association of Realtors

Many of the sales recorded in April were related to contracts signed in previous months — often before the recent surge in mortgage rates. Further declines are expected as these rate hikes deter potential borrowers.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.25% this week, near its highest level in more than a decade, according to Mortgage Finance Agency. Freddie Mac.

While total sales fell, other market metrics remained strong.

Properties including single-family homes, townhouses, condos and co-ops are selling quickly at premium prices as demand continues to outstrip supply.

The average length of time a property is on the market is just 17 days.

The average sale price of existing homes reached $391,200 in April, up 14.8% year over year and the result of a 122-month streak of gains.

Housing market forecasters say soaring home prices, rising mortgage rates and inflation — which hit a 41-year high of 8.5% in March (pictured) — have contributed to the decline in some home sales

San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C. and Seattle topped the list of cities people wanted to leave in recent months, with Miami at the top of the list

Homebuyers in Miami, Florida’s coastal center, saw the largest home price increase in the nation, with an average increase of 38.3% compared to the previous year. Las Vegas, Orlando, Austin and Sacramento also saw notable increases.

Cloud described an “unusual” housing market at the end of the pandemic, where “sales are falling, but listings are still selling rapidly and prices are much higher than a year ago”.

Sales rose in the Northeast and Midwest, but declined in the South and West. All-cash sales accounted for 26% of the deal. First-time buyers were the most affected by soaring home prices, accounting for 28 per cent of sales.

President Joe Biden this week announced plans to make housing more affordable, especially for first-time buyers and renters caught up in landlords and runaway inflation.

Also this week, Huntsville, Alabama, was named the best place to live in America by U.S. News & World Report, in part due to the city’s relatively affordable home prices, averaging $192,667.

According to U.S. News & World Report, Huntsville, Alabama was recently named the best place to live in America, in part because the average home price has remained relatively affordable at $192,667