Sales include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops.
“Home sales have been at 75 percent of normal or pre-pandemic activity for the past three years, even with seven million jobs added to the economy,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in the report. “Pent-up housing demand continues to grow, though not realized. Any meaningful decline in mortgage rates will help release this demand.”
The median sales price rose by 1.8 percent year over year, to $414,000, an all-time high for the month of April, according to the report.
Regionally, the West experienced the largest decrease in existing home sales in April, falling by 3.9 percent, and down 1.3 percent from April 2024. The median sales price declined by 0.2 percent, to $628,500.
Sindy Ready, president of the Arizona Realtors, told The Epoch Times that they’ve seen a 2 to 4 percent drop in sales over the past few months.
“When Mr. Yun recently visited with us, he said that Arizona is in a unique position due to all of the tech businesses coming in, so our sales may be a bit better than those in Seattle, Portland, or cities in California,” she said.
Ready, a realtor with RE/MAX Excalibur in Scottsdale, indicated her region, which includes Pinal and Maricopa counties, has experienced just a 2 percent drop in sales, and the area is still considered a “seller’s market.”
“However, sellers are adjusting down if they are motivated to get the house sold,” she noted. “If it’s in a good location and priced right, it will sell. Instead of dropping the listing prices, sometimes sellers will make other concessions, such as providing home repairs or helping with the buyer’s closing costs.”
The Greater Phoenix area’s median sales price currently stands at $455,000 for a single-family home.
“Our biggest demand is for homes priced below $350,000, and these are generally from first-time homebuyers,” she added. “Many potential buyers are also watching the national economy before committing to the decision to purchase.”
Sales in the Northeast fell by 2 percent, but the median price grew by 6.3 percent, to $487,400.
Sales in the South remained unchanged in April, but were down 3.2 percent from a year earlier. The median sales price slipped by 0.1 percent from last year to $365,300.
“Looking across the entire state, we have seen inventory levels rise, but the prices are remaining steady,” Tim Weisheyer, president of the Florida Realtors, told The Epoch Times.
Weisheyer said that Florida home values have more than doubled in the last decade.
“We were blooming during the [COVID-19] pandemic with an influx of residents from other states, and home prices began to escalate,” he said.
“Now with the increased mortgage rates, and more inventory, I think we’re looking at a normal market. It may look like a drop, but we’re actually doing fine, and price are on par with what they should be.”
While parts of the state are prone to hurricanes, Weisheyer noted that the damage was mostly limited to isolated areas. “The perception is that the whole state is being crushed by hurricanes, but that’s not the case,” he said.
While home prices in some areas have dipped slightly, Weisheyer does not expect a significant drop, especially given the steady influx of new and second homeowners from northern states.
Jonathan Lickstein, president of Broward, Palm Beaches & St. Lucie Realtors, agrees.
“The price trends we’ve been seeing lately are dependent on the price point,” he told The Epoch Times.
“The mid-range single-family home market that used to feature properties for $250,000 are now worth about $600,000 and are unaffordable for many. That’s where sellers are making some concessions on these prices.”
On the other hand, Lickstein said the luxury market—priced between $2 million and $10 million—is not experiencing any price reductions.
“The more affluent groups have the capital to purchase, and they are not necessarily worried about mortgage rates. Many of these deals are in cash,” he said.
The Association’s southeast Florida region features a wealth of beaches, boutiques, restaurants, and aquatic activities that continue to attract tourists and second homeowners from around the world. Visitors from Canada, Europe, Central and South America comprise the bulk of the area’s international real estate business.
Lickstein also noted that there are “pockets of affordability” in places such as Lauderdale Lakes, where single-family homes are still available for about $200,000. “I do expect interest rates to adjust by the end of the year, which will help further stabilize the market,” he said.
The NAR reported that only the Midwest saw home sales increase, by 2.1 percent, and median prices there also rose by 3.6 percent, to $313,300.
The data also indicated that inventory of unsold existing homes increased by 9 percent in April, to 1.45 million, equating to 4.4 months of supply.
“At the macro level, we are still in a mild seller’s market,” Yun said. “But with the highest inventory levels in nearly five years, consumers are in a better situation to negotiate for better deals.”
Properties typically remained on the market for 29 days in April, down from 36 days in March, but up from 26 days in April 2024. First-time homebuyers comprised 34 percent of April’s sales, representing a growth of 2 percent from the previous month.
Cash sales accounted for 25 percent of all transactions, a decline of just 1 percent from March. Individual investors or second-home buyers bought 15 percent of homes in April.
