US existing home sales fell by 11 months in March, and the highs fell more than expected

Release time：May 06, 2019 From：admin

On Monday, 22nd, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced that the total number of existing home sales in March this year was 5.21 million, which was lower than the market expectation of 5.3 million, falling 11 months in February. The highest level. The number of households in February was revised down from 5.51 million to 5.48 million, still a new high since March last year.

This year's existing home sales fluctuated significantly. The number of sales in January was the lowest since November 2015. The first annual sales in less than three years were less than 5 million.

The total number of existing home sales in March decreased by 4.9% year-on-year, and the market expects a decrease of 3.8%. The month-on-month growth rate in February was revised down from 11.8% to 11.2%, the largest increase since 2015.

It is noted that although the US housing mortgage loan interest rate is lower, wages are increasing, and house price growth is slowing down, as of March, existing home sales have fallen for the fourth time in five months. In the week of March 28, the average interest rate of US 30-year fixed mortgages fell to 4.06%, a drop of 22 basis points, the largest weekly decline in a decade.

In March, the sales of existing homes in the southern, central, western and eastern regions of the four major regions fell, and the central and western regions fell by 7.9%. Compared with the same year ago, existing home sales in March have been down for 13 consecutive months.

The median price of existing homes in March increased by 3.8% year-on-year to US$259,400, a growth rate higher than 3.6% in February. The growth rate in January was 2.8%, the smallest since February 2012.

Total housing stocks increased by 3.1% in March to 1.68 million. At current sales rates, existing home inventory will be sold out in 3.9 months in March, up from 3.6 months in February. The market generally believes that the inventory sales period of less than 5 months belongs to “the supply side is tight”, and 6-7 months belongs to the “market supply and demand health balance”.

The NAR report mentioned that the number of new housing starts in the US in March was nearly two years lower. But other data show that spring has a good momentum, such as housing builders' sentiment rose to the highest in six months, and the number of mortgage applications reached a record high of nearly nine years.

Jessica Lautz, vice president of NAR, commented that there is a mismatch between market supply and demand. The stock of low-priced housing needs to increase, and high-priced housing may need to cut prices. NAR still expects sales to accelerate later this year.

Reuters believes that the decline in mortgage lending rates, the growth in wage growth and the slowdown in house prices have all increased the ability of buyers to supply houses, but housing supply is still tight, especially low-cost housing. The shortage of land and labor makes it difficult for builders to speed up building.

According to the Bloomberg report, the data suggests that the residential market may need more time to stabilize after sales in January hit a new low of more than three years.

After the March existing home sales data was released, the US dollar index expanded its decline. It once fell below 97.29 and hit a low of 97.30. The decline has narrowed.