Economy: Existing Home Sales During March 2022

The Existing Home Sales report for March 2022 was released by The National Association of Realtors® (NAR®) this morning:

Predicted: 6,000,000
Actual: 5,770,000

Change from Previous Month: -2.698% (-160,000 homes)
Change from One Year Previous: -4.47% (-270,000 homes)

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Inventory: 950,000 (2.0 months supply; -9.5% year-on-year.)

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The yellow-highlighted, "actual" figure above represents the preliminary, seasonally adjusted annualized sales count of existing homes, co-ops and condominiums for the indicated month. The "predicted" figure is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the true or real figure.

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Median Price for A Used Home During March 2022: $375,300

Change from One Year Previous: +15.017% (+$49,000)

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Average Price for A Used Home During March 2022: $387,100

Change from One Year Previous: +9.629% (+$34,000)

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Click here for historical prices and a chart.

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From Today's Report:

"..."The housing market is starting to feel the impact of sharply rising mortgage rates and higher inflation taking a hit on purchasing power," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Still, homes are selling rapidly, and home price gains remain in the double-digits."

With mortgage rates expected to rise further, Yun predicts transactions to contract by 10% this year, for home prices to readjust, and for gains to grow around 5%.

"Home prices have consistently moved upward as supply remains tight," Yun said. "However, sellers should not expect the easy-profit gains and should look for multiple offers to fade as demand continues to subside."

Properties typically remained on the market for 17 days in March, down from 18 days in February and 18 days in March 2021. Eighty-seven percent of homes sold in March 2022 were on the market for less than a month.

First-time buyers were responsible for 30% of sales in March, up from 29% in February and down from 32% in March 2021. NAR's 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – released in late 2021 – reported that the annual share of first-time buyers was 34%.

"It appears first-time homebuyers are still looking to lock in at current mortgage rates before they inevitably increase," Yun said.

Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented less than 1% of sales in March, equal to the percentage seen in both February 2022 and March 2021..."