Existing Home Sales Drop 3.6 Percent in March as Consumer Confidence Wanes

The new numbers prompted the National Association of Realtors to downgrade its forecast of existing home sales growth for the full year to a modest 4 percent.

A home for sale in Miami on Feb. 22, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Sales of existing homes in March slumped by 3.6 percent from the previous month in a sign of waning consumer confidence and sluggish job growth, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said in a new report released on April 13.

Consumer sentiment plummeted by 11 percent in April versus March as the U.S.–Israel war with Iran, surging fuel costs, and higher prices weighed on personal finances, a University of Michigan survey found. On the employment front, U.S. employers added 178,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate stagnant at 4.3 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on April 3.