Existing Home Sales Fall Again In March

Sales of existing homes continue to fluctuate, remaining above 2011 levels but falling in March.

Existing home sales fell for the second straight month in March but remain higher than 2011, according to the latest numbers from the National Association of Realtors.

Existing home sales ?EUR??,,????'??? defined as finalized transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops ?EUR??,,????'??? fell 2.6 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million, 5.2 percent above the 4.26 million-unit pace in March 2011. The same figure was upwardly revised to 4.6 million units in February.

?EUR??,,????'??The recovery is happening, though not at a breakout pace,?EUR??,,????'?? said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. ?EUR??,,????'??Existing-home sales are moving up and down in a fairly narrow range that is well above the level of activity during the first half of last year ?EUR??,,????'??? pent-up demand is coming to market and we expect housing to be notably better this year.?EUR??,,????'??

Total housing inventory declined 1.3 percent at the end of March to 2.37 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.3-month supply at current sales rates, unchanged from February. Anything below a six-month supply is considered healthy and could indicate potential shortages.

?EUR??,,????'??We were expecting a seasonal increase in home listings, but a lack of inventory has become an issue in several markets with not enough homes for sale in relation to buyer interest,?EUR??,,????'?? Yun said. ?EUR??,,????'??Home sales could be held back because of supply factors and not by demand ?EUR??,,????'??? we?EUR??,,????'???re already seeing this in the Western states and in South Florida.?EUR??,,????'??

Existing home sales fell hardest in the West, down 7.4 percent from February and 0.9 percent from March 2011. Sales in the Midwest were statistically unchanged, while the South and Northeast fell less than two percent. Excluding the West, all regions are above the same seasonally adjusted annual rate from last year. The national median existing-home price was also up 2.5 percent from 2011, reaching $163,800.

Economists believe that the string of diminishing indicators in March is an effect of unexpectedly high activity earlier in the year, caused by a mild winter. Analysts continue to predict market growth, though improving over the troubles of 2011 ?EUR??,,????'??? one of the worst years for the housing market since record keeping began a half-century ago ?EUR??,,????'??? shouldn?EUR??,,????'???t be difficult.