Existing-Home Buyers Face High Prices and Low Inventory

“The sales for March would have been measurably higher had there been more inventory,” he added. “Days-on-market are swift, multiple offers are prevalent, and buyer confidence is rising.”

Median price for an existing home rose 17.2% year-over-year to $329,000 with prices gaining momentum in all regions.

Inventory at the end of March was 1.07 million units, a 3.9% increase from February but down 28.2% from a year ago. At the current sales pace, unsold inventory is at a 2.1-month supply, up just slightly from the near-historic low of 2.0 the previous month.

Single-family home sales dropped 4.3% to a SAAR of 5.3 million in March and were up 10.4% from March 2020. Median home price for an existing single-family home rose 18.4% from a year ago to $334,500.

Condominium and co-op sales inched up 1.4% to an annual rate of 5.3 million from February to March and were 29.1% higher than a year ago. Median existing condo price jumped 9.6% year-over-year to $289,000.

Sales slipped from February to March in all four U.S. regions while prices rose by double digits from a year ago.

Properties were snapped up in record times in March, with 83% sold in less than a month, said NAR. Properties were typically on the market for just 18 days, a record low.

“Without an increase in supply, the society wealth division will widen with homeowners enjoying sizable equity gains while renters will struggle to become homeowners,” said Yun.