Sales of Existing Homes Drop to Worst March since 2009. West, South, Midwest, Northeast All Get Crushed. Supply Surges to Highest since 2016
By Wolf Richter
The 3-year 50% price explosion has caused epic demand destruction. Prices are way too high. But mortgage rates are back in the historically normal range above 6%
The feverishly anticipated spring selling season is starting out as a dud. Sales of existing homes – single-family houses, townhouses, condos, and co-ops – that closed in March fell by 3.1% from the already frozen volume a year ago to 315,000 deals, not seasonally adjusted, down by 31% from March 2022, which was when home sales began to plunge after prices had spiked in many markets by 50% or more in just three years, to ridiculous levels, thereby destroying demand.
Demand destruction on display: The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales of existing homes fell by 5.9% in March from February, and by 2.4% year-over-year, to a rate of 4.02 million, the worst March since 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors today. From the Marches in prior years (historical data from YCharts):
- 2024: -2.4%
- 2023: -7.6%
- 2022: -29.3%
- 2019: -23.1%
- 2018: -27.0%
Highest supply for March since 2016.
Inventory of homes listed for sale jumped by 100,000 homes, or by 8.1%, in March from February, and by 20% year-over-year, to 1.33 million listings. This increase in inventory occurred even as buyers were on strike because prices are too high.
Supply of unsold homes on the market, amid these inventory levels and demand destruction, jumped to 4.0 months at the March rate of sales, the highest supply for any March since 2016. The months of 2025 are shown as the red squares:
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