The West experienced the biggest decline, nearly 4%.
Sales include single-family homes, townhomes, apartments and cooperatives.
“Home sales have been 75% of normal or pre-pandemic activity, even if 7 million jobs were added to the economy over the past three years,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, in the report. “We don’t realize that demand for housing continues to increase. A meaningful drop in mortgage rates will help to unlock this demand.”
The median selling price rose 1.8% year-on-year to an all-time high of $414,000 in April, according to the report.
Regionally, the West experienced the biggest decline in existing home sales in April, down 3.9% and 1.3% from April 2024. The median selling price fell 0.2% to $628,500.
Northeast sales fell 2%, but median prices rose 6.3% to $487,400.
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Sales in the South remained unchanged in April, but fell 3.2% from the previous year. The median selling price fell 0.1% from last year to $365,300.
“If you look at the statewide, you’ve seen stock levels rise, but prices are stable,” Florida real estate agent Tim Weeshayer told the Epoch Times.
Weisheyer said the value of the Florida home has more than doubled over the past decade.
“We have been blooming with an influx of residents from other states during the (Covid-19) pandemic and home prices have started to escalate,” he said.
“Now, we’re looking at the regular market as mortgage fees are increasing and stocks are increasing. It may seem like a drop, but it’s actually doing well and prices are on par with what they should be.”
Although parts of the state are prone to hurricanes, Weisheyer noted that the damage is largely limited to isolated areas. “The perception is that the whole state is being crushed by hurricanes, but it’s not,” he said.
Although home prices have fallen slightly in some areas, Weisheyer doesn’t expect a significant drop, especially given the steady influx of new and second homeowners from the northern states.
Broward, Palm Beaches, St. Jonathan Lickstein, president of LucieRealtors, agrees.
“The price trends we’ve seen recently depend on the price range,” he told The Epoch Times.
“The mid-range single-family home market, which had $250,000 in property, is currently worth around $600,000 and is out of hand for many. So sellers have made some concessions to these prices.”
Meanwhile, Lickstein said the luxury market (prices ranging from $2 million to $10 million) has not experienced price cuts.
“They don’t necessarily worry about mortgage rates because they have the capital to buy, and a lot of these transactions are cash,” he said.
The association’s Southeast Florida region is home to a wealth of beaches, boutiques, restaurants and aquatic activities that continue to attract tourists and second homeowners from around the world. Visitors from Canada, Europe, Central and South America account for the majority of the region’s international real estate business.
Rickstein also noted that there are “affordable pockets” at locations such as Lauderdale Lake, where single-family homes are still available for around $200,000. “We expect interest rates to be adjusted by the end of the year, which will help to stabilize the market even more,” he said.
NAR reported that only the Midwest increased home sales by 2.1%, and the median price increased by 3.6% to $313,300.
Data also shows that stocks of unsold existing homes in April increased by 9%, equivalent to 4.4 months of supply.
“On a macro level, we are still in a mild seller’s market,” Yun said. “However, with the highest inventory levels in nearly five years, consumers are in a better position to negotiate better deals.”
Normally, real estate fell from 29 days in April and 36 days in March, but rose from 26th in April 2024. First-time home buyers accounted for 34% of April’s sales, representing 2% growth from the previous month.
Cash sales account for 25% of all transactions, down just 1% since March. In April, individual investors or second buyers purchased a 15% home.
