Sales had shown some life, rising in February after a full year of declines due to surging mortgage rates, but that momentum has since cooled. In April, sales of existing homes — which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — dropped 3.4% from March. Annually, sales were down 23% from a year ago and the seasonally adjusted annualized sales pace dropped from 5.57 million units a year ago to 4.28 million in April.
“Even in markets with lower prices, primarily the expensive West region, multiple-offer situations have returned in the spring buying season following the calmer winter market. Distressed and forced property sales are virtually nonexistent.” Prices rose in the Northeast and Midwest but retreated in the South and West. Median prices in the Northeast were up 2.8% in April from a year ago to $422,700 and were up 1.8% to $287,300 in the Midwest. In the South prices were down 0.