Inventory woes continue as prices keep climbing
Builder
Sales of existing homes dipped 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million in April from a downwardly revised 5.70 million in March but were still 1.6% ahead of the same month last year, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.
Related: HOUSE PRICES RISE 0.6% IN MARCH
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says every major region except for the Midwest saw a retreat in existing sales in April. “Last month’s dip in closings was somewhat expected given that there was such a strong sales increase in March at 4.2%, and new and existing inventory is not keeping up with the fast pace homes are coming off the market,” he said. “Demand is easily outstripping supply in most of the country and it’s stymieing many prospective buyers from finding a home to purchase.”