Sales of existing homes fell last month as did the median price of those residences, the National Association of Realtors reported today.
Existing home sales fell 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units, meaning that, that would be the annual rate if March's rate remains the same all year. February's numbers were 7% below those of February 2008.
The median price for an existing home last month was $175,200, a 12.4% decline from March 2008 though a 4.2% increase from February.
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The association also reported that 53% of all purchases last month were by first-time buyers.
"The share of lower priced home sales has trended up, indicating a return of many first-time buyers, which we also see in a parallel member survey. Sales in the upper price ranges remain stalled because of higher interest rates on jumbo loans," National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5% in March, compared with 5.13% in February
Last month, existing-home sales were unchanged in the Midwest and fell in Northeast, South and West, by 8%, 1.7% and 4.2%, respectively.
Compared to March 2008 sales declined in every region. The Northeast, Midwest and South and West saw declines of 18.4%, 6.1%, 12.2% and 11.1%, respectively.
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