Sales of existing homes fell slightly in March 2008, the National Association of Realtors announced Tuesday, as resales continued to lag amid the nation's worst housing slump in more than 15 years. It was the fourth existing home sales decline in the last five months.Sales advanced at a 4.93-million-unit annualized pace in March 2008, the NAR said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected March 2008 existing home sales to register a 4.95-million-unit annualized rate. The February 2008 existing homes sales statistic was revised to a 5.03-million-unit annualized pace.
Regionally, March 2008 existing home sales fell 6.5% in the Midwest, 3.5% in the South, and 2.2% in the West. Sales roses 2.2% in the Northeast.
Meanwhile, the U.S. median home price plummeted 7.7% to $200,700 on a year-over-year basis. The median price was $217,400 a year ago.
Equally significant, home inventories rose 1.0% to 4.06 million units, a 9.9-month supply at the current sales pace. A typical, healthy housing market has an inventory of 3-4 months.
The existing home sales statistic is considered a lead economic indicator because the metric tracks actual signings for the month reported, in this case, March 2008.
Economic Analysis: A poor March 2008 existing home sales statistic. Existing home sales remain weak, indicative of an economy in recession and a housing market where potential buyers expect future price declines, and hence postpone home purchase decisions. Further, if sluggish home sales persist, that will make it very hard for the U.S. economy to resume an adequate growth rate in Q3 2008.
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