| Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
| Annual Rate | 4.050M | 4.010M to 4.110M | 4.02M | 3.98M | 4.01M |
| Month over Month | 0.2% | -3.6% | -2.9% | ||
| Year over Year | 0.0% | -1.0% | -0.2% |
Highlights
There appears to be a shift in home resales from single-family homes to renewed purchases of condos and co-ops. This likely reflects the impetus to buy a home while consumers could secure a lower mortgage rate in February and March but choosing more affordable properties in the multi-unit sector. Contracts closed in April would predominantly be with mortgages secured in February and March. The Freddie Mac average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.11 in February and 6.18 in March. Signs of higher rates on the near horizon probably motivated some buyers to commit before affordability deteriorated.
Sales of existing homes edge up 0.2 percent in April to a 4.02 million unit annual rate after an upward revision to 4.01 million units in March. Home resales are unchanged from a year ago. The April increase is slightly below the consensus of 4.05 million units in the Econoday survey of forecasters. Notable in the March revision is that it is mainly from resales of multi-unit properties.
Single-family home resales are flat in April from March at 3.64 million units. Single-family home sales are down 0.3 percent from a year ago. Resales of condos and co-ops are up 2.7 percent in April to 380,000 after 370,000 in March and also up 2.7 percent from 370,000 in April 2025.
The median price of an existing home in April is $417,700, up 2.1 percent from the prior month and up 0.9 percent from $414,000 in April 2025. Existing home prices typically rise in the first half of the year and decline in the second half. The months' supply of homes for sales is up to 4.4 in April after 4.2 in March and similar to 4.3 a year ago. However, the supply of single-family homes is up to 4.4 months in April after 4.0 in March and 4.1 in April 2025. The supply of condos and co-ops is down to 4.5 months in April after 6.0 in March and 6.2 in April 2025.
The average number of days on the market dips sharply to 32 in April after 41 in March but is longer than 29 days in April 2025. The share of first-time buyers is 33 percent in April and is not much changed from 32 in March and 34 in April 2025. Entry into homeownership remains difficult for many first-time buyers and competition for the most affordable units is keen.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Forecasters see sales recovering to an annual 4.05 million versus a soft 3.98 million in March.
Definition
Existing home sales tally the number of previously constructed homes, condominiums and co-ops in which a sale closed during the month. Existing homes (also known as home resales) account for a larger share of the market than new homes and indicate housing market trends.
Description
This provides a gauge of not only the demand for housing, but the economic momentum. People have to be feeling pretty comfortable and confident in their own financial position to buy a house. Furthermore, this narrow piece of data has a powerful multiplier effect through the economy, and therefore across the markets and your investments. By tracking economic data such as home resales, investors can gain specific investment ideas as well as broad guidance for managing a portfolio.
Even though home resales don't always create new output, once the home is sold, it generates revenues for the realtor. It brings a myriad of consumption opportunities for the buyer.
Refrigerators, washers, dryers and furniture are just a few items home buyers might purchase. The economic"ripple effect" can be substantial especially when you think a hundred thousand new households around the country are doing this every month. Since the economic backdrop is the most pervasive influence on financial markets, home resales have a direct bearing on stocks, bonds and commodities. In a more specific sense, trends in the existing home sales data carry valuable clues for the stocks of home builders, mortgage lenders and home furnishings companies.
