by Calculated Risk on 5/22/2025 10:00:00 AM
From the NAR: Existing-Home Sales Edged Lower by 0.5% in April
Existing-home sales slowed in April, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales dipped in the Northeast and West, grew in the Midwest and were unchanged in the South. Year-over-year, sales declined in three regions and remained steady in the Northeast.
Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – slipped 0.5% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million in April. Year-over-year, sales descended 2.0% (down from 4.08 million in April 2024)..
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Total housing inventory registered at the end of April was 1.45 million units, up 9.0% from March and 20.8% from one year ago (1.2 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.0 months in March and 3.5 months in April 2024.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
This graph shows existing home sales, on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) basis since 1994.
Sales in April (4.00 million SAAR) were down 0.5% from the previous month and were 2.0% below the April 2024 sales rate. This was the 3rd consecutive month with a year–over-year decline in sales.
According to the NAR, inventory increased to 1.45 million in April from 1.33 million the previous month.
The last graph shows the year-over-year (YoY) change in reported existing home inventory and months-of-supply. Since inventory is not seasonally adjusted, it really helps to look at the YoY change. Note: Months-of-supply is based on the seasonally adjusted sales and not seasonally adjusted inventory.
Inventory was up 20.8% year-over-year (blue) in April compared to April 2024.
Months of supply (red) increased to 4.4 months in April from 4.0 months the previous month.
As expected, the sales rate was below the consensus forecast. I’ll have more later.
