Sales of existing homes fell in March, except in the West!
April 24, 2008

The national housing downturn continued in March as single-family home sales fell 2 percent in March – the seventh decline in the past eight months, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS® (NAR) reported Tuesday. The NAR said the median price of a home fell from $217,400 a year ago to $200,700 this March, a 7.7 percent decline. The inventory of homes for sale increased by 40,000 units to 4.06 million homes. At the March rate of sales, it would take 9.9 months to deplete the inventory, up from 9.6 months in February.

Making Sense of the Story for Consumers
The March results were in line with a Bloomberg survey of 72 economists, who projected a 2.3 percent decline in sales. Experts say buyers will likely stay on the sidelines until foreclosures, which are seen as driving prices down, level off. Since sales and price data lag a month or more, it is difficult to project when prices will level off and begin to rise.

The Midwest and South suffered the largest sales declines during March, falling 6.5 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. However, the West (which includes California) and Northeast regions both experienced a 2.2 percent increase in sales.