Home sales fell in April amid supply squeeze
In this April 27 photo, a “For Sale” sign is posted in front of a home in Charlotte, N.C.
WASHINGTON – Americans pulled back their pace of home-buying in April, as shrinking inventories and rising prices are putting them in a bind with fewer and fewer options.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday sales of existing homes slipped 2.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million. Still, a stable job market supported solid demand from buyers as home purchases are 1.6 percent higher than a year ago.
But the specter of ever tightening supplies is starting to squeeze the market.
Would-be buyers are mobbing open houses as sales are occurring on the shortest timeline ever recorded by the Realtors. The inventory of homes for sale has declined on an annual basis for the past 23 months, creating a shortage that pushed up prices above income growth.
The number of properties listed for sale plunged 9 percent over the past 12 months to 1.93 million. Homes are staying on the market for a median of just 29 days.
The fast-moving market fueled rising home values that priced some entry-level buyers out of the market.
The median sales price has risen 6 percent from a year ago to $244,800.
But the sales volume of homes worth less than $250,000 has declined over the past year, while homes worth more than the median have experienced sales growth.
Sales declined last month in the Northeast, South and West, while rising in the Midwest.
As a result of the rising prices, it’s still cheaper to buy rather than rent, but the gap is narrowing.
The real estate firm Trulia released an analysis Wednesday finding buying was more affordable in the 100 largest metro areas, provided the owner provided a 20 percent down payment and stays at least seven years. But rental prices were flat or falling in 93 of the metro areas, while home prices kept rising – such that it might soon be cheaper to rent than buy in high-priced markets such as Honolulu and the California Bay Area cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland.
Relatively low mortgage rates still favor buying in many markets.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate home loans edged down to 4.02 percent last week from 4.05 percent the prior week. The rate was 3.58 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent in 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.