US Home Sales Drop to Slowest March Pace Since 2009

US home sales in March fell to their slowest rate since 2009, marking a sluggish start to the key spring buying season.

The Details: Existing home sales in March declined by 5.9% from February, to 4.02 million units, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest monthly sales decline since November 2022. The pace of home sales in March hasn't been this slow since the financial crisis over 15 years ago. The national median sales price rose 2.7% in March from a year earlier to $403,700, an all-time high for March, but the smallest annual increase since August.

For Context: The US housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied US homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. The average cost of a US mortgage, which climbed to its highest level in two months last week, is a significant barrier for would-be homebuyers.

How the Media Covered It: Both the New York Post (Lean Right bias) and CNBC (Lean Left) reported the sharp decline in home sales and acknowledged the impact of high mortgage rates and rising house prices on the housing market. However, the New York Post emphasized the negative implications for would-be buyers, while CNBC focused more on the broader economic implications and potential impact on household wealth.

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