Existing home sales up 3.7% in March, top 5 million annual mark

The upward trend in existing home sales continued in March as sales rose 3.7 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales have now risen in six of the past eight months.

Much of the gain occurred in the single-family sector, where sales rose 4.0 percent to an annual rate of 4.45 million. The median existing single-family home price was $160,500 in March, down 5.3 percent from a year ago.

Other key findings from the NAR report:

• Total housing inventory at the end of March rose 1.5 percent to 3.55 million existing homes available for sale, representing an 8.4-month supply.
• Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 650,000.
• Regionally, the South saw the biggest gain (8.2 percent), followed by the Northeast (3.9 percent) and Midwest (1 percent), while the West dipped 0.8 percent.
• All-cash sales were at a record market share of 35 percent in March, up from 33 percent in February.

Read NAR’s full report at: http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2011/04/rise_march.