US Existing Home Sales Fall to 9-Month Low

Existing home sales in the United States fell by 3.6% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 3.98 million in March of 2026, the lowest in nine months and missing market expectations of 4.06 million units. Inventory levels inched higher from the previous month to 1.36 million, equivalent to 4.1 months of supply at the latest sales rate, although both the level and sales ratio remain well below the historical average. Meanwhile, the median sales price of existing homes were 1.4% higher from the previous year at $408,800, the highest since November. According to NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “March home sales remained sluggish and below last year’s pace. Lower consumer confidence and softer job growth continue to hold back buyers. Because inventory remains limited, the median home price rose to a new record high for the month of March. That price growth has helped the typical homeowner accumulate $128,100 in housing wealth over the past six years.”

Existing home sales in the United States rose by 1.7% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 4.09 million in February of 2026, ahead of market expectations that they would fall to 3.89 million. Despite the rebound, unsold inventory rose by a sharper 2.4% to a total of 1.29 million, which is equivalent to 3.8 months of supply at the latest sales rate. Sales price of existing homes inched higher by 0.3% from the previous year to $398,000, despite the drop in mortgage rates since the period. “Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Still, there is a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels of transaction activity. There are more than 6 million more jobs than in 2019, yet home sales per year are down by one million. Despite the modest gain in home sales, actual housing demand remains muted relative to wage growth and job gains.”

Existing home sales in the United States sank by 8.4% from the previous month to an annualized rate of 3.91 million in January of 2026, firmly below market expectations of 4.18 million, after having reached a 3-year high of 4.35 million in the last month of 2025. It was the sharpest drop in nearly 4 years to the lowest level since September 2024. Unsold inventory fell by 0.8% to 1.22 million units, equal to 3.7 months of supply. "The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this month’s numbers are an aberration,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Affordability conditions are improving, with NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showing that housing is the most affordable it’s been since March 2022. This is due to wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates being lower than a year ago. However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low."