March home sales were down 4.5% year-over-year, while the median price of an existing home sold rose 15% from March 2021 to an all-time high of $375,300, CNBC reports. A growing dent in the nation’s housing affordability is the direct result of a severe housing shortage coupled with consecutive gains on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which now rests at 5.35%.
At the end of March, just 950,000 for-sale properties were available for buyers nationwide, a 9.5% decrease year-over-year representative of a two-month supply at the current sales pace. As a result, home sales are moving quickly at the start of the spring buying season with the average home lasting just 17 days before going under contract.
Sales of existing homes dropped 2.7% in March to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 5.77 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. February’s reading was also revised downward with a larger-than-usual dent, from 6.02 million units to 5.93 million.
March sales were 4.5% lower than the same period in 2021.
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