U.S. Existing Home Sales Miss Expectations in April, Up Only 0.2%, But Affordability Improves

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales in April grew only 0.2% month-over-month, falling short of expectations. The seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate was 4.02 million units, below the forecast of 4.05 million units.

Housing affordability continued to improve, with the affordability index rising from 101.4 a year ago to 110.6 in April. The median existing home price was $417,700, up 0.9% year-over-year. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that despite mixed macroeconomic signals, "the continuing improvement in housing affordability provided some support to sales." Existing home inventory increased 5.8% to 1.47 million units, though still well below pre-pandemic levels.