The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Tuesday that the U.S. existing home
sales fell 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.19 million in April from
an unrevised 5.21 million in March.
Economists had
forecast home resales increasing to a 5.35 million-unit pace last month.
According to
the report, single-family
home sales stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in April,
down from 4.67 million in March and down 4.0 percent from 4.81 million a year
ago. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a
seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 570,000 units in April, up 5.6% from the
prior month and down 8.1 percent from a year ago.
In y-o-y
terms, existing-home sales dropped 4.4 percent in April.
The NAR’s
chief economist Lawrence Yun said he is not overly concerned about the 0.4% dip
in sales and expects moderate growth very soon. “First, we are seeing
historically low mortgage rates combined with a pent-up demand to buy, so
buyers will look to take advantage of these conditions,” he noted. “Also, job
creation is improving, causing wage growth to align with home price growth,
which helps affordability and will help spur more home sales.”