U.S. existing-home sales unexpectedly decline in April

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Tuesday that the U.S. existing home sales fell 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.19 million in April from an unrevised 5.21 million in March.

Economists had forecast home resales increasing to a 5.35 million-unit pace last month.

According to the report, single-family home sales stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in April, down from 4.67 million in March and down 4.0 percent from 4.81 million a year ago. Meanwhile, existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 570,000 units in April, up 5.6% from the prior month and down 8.1 percent from a year ago.

In y-o-y terms, existing-home sales dropped 4.4 percent in April.

The NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said he is not overly concerned about the 0.4% dip in sales and expects moderate growth very soon. “First, we are seeing historically low mortgage rates combined with a pent-up demand to buy, so buyers will look to take advantage of these conditions,” he noted. “Also, job creation is improving, causing wage growth to align with home price growth, which helps affordability and will help spur more home sales.”