The American housing market is broken-and 3 years in, it's starting to look permanent
Fortune • • business
Key Points:
- Existing home sales in the U.S. increased slightly by 0.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units, matching the previous year's level but falling short of economists' expectations of 4.12 million.
- Home sales have remained near a 4-million annual pace since 2023, significantly below the historic norm of around 5.2 million, reflecting a sluggish housing market since mortgage rates rose in 2022.
- The median sales price for U.S. homes rose 0.9% year-over-year in April to $417,700, marking an all-time high for April and continuing a 34-month streak of annual price increases.
- Housing inventory improved slightly in April, with 1.47 million unsold homes available—a 5.8% increase from March and the highest April inventory since 2019—but remains below pre-pandemic levels, contributing to ongoing market tightness.
- The current 4.4-month supply of homes is below the balanced market benchmark of 5-6 months, and experts emphasize the need for a significant inventory increase to stabilize the market.