U.S. existing home sales falls more than expectations in April

Existing home sales in the U.S. dropped more than expectations in April. On a sequential basis, existing home sales dropped 2.5 percent sequentially to 5.46 million, as compared with consensus expectations of 5.55 million. The fall was mainly because of single-family homes sales, which fell 3 percent. Meanwhile, sales of multi-family homes rose for the second straight month, by 1.6 percent. On the supply side, inventories of existing homes on a seasonally adjusted basis rose slightly to 1.72 million.

But the month’s supply rebounded to 4, largely reflecting the fall in sales. The poor inventory of existing homes against a backdrop of healthy demand is putting upward pressure on home prices, and is making affordability a concern among prospective home buyers. The annual rate of appreciation of median home prices was 5.3 percent, slightly lower than in the earlier months, but still widely in line with other measures of home price appreciation. Regions wise, no region saw a rise in sales in April.

April’s report was softer than anticipated and suggests lower brokers’ commissions in the second quarter as compared to what was pencilled in, noted Barclays in a research report.

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