March Home Sales Couldn't Repeat February's Win, but 2019 Should be Better; Construction Buoyed by West

The question this morning was whether March's existing home sales could build on the strong numbers posted in February, an 11.8 percent increase from the prior month with a seasonally adjusted pace of 5.51 million. It was the largest gain in more than three years. The consensus was that they would not. The forecasters were spot on. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reports that sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and cooperative apartments retreated from their February gains, with each of the four major U.S. regions falling back. The Midwest saw the largest decline although the West wasn't far behind. Total existing-home sales fell 4.9 percent from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.21 million. Sales as a whole are down 5.4 percent from a

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2019/4/22/3888