Having ticked up 1.1 percent in March but slipped on a year-over-year basis, the pace of existing-home sales in the U.S. dropped 2.5 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million sales which is 1.4 percent lower versus the same time last year.
At the same time, the inventory of existing homes on the market rose 9.8 percent to 1.80 million homes but remains 6.3 percent lower versus the same time last year while the median price of the homes that traded hands last month increased 3.0 percent to $257,400, which is 5.3 percent higher on a year-over-year basis versus 5.8 percent higher in March.
And out West, the pace of existing-home sales declined 3.3 percent in April to an annual rate of 1.19 million sales which is 0.8 percent below its mark at the same time last year while the median sale price inched up 1.3 percent to $382,100, which is 6.2 percent higher on a year-over-year basis versus 7.9 percent higher in March and 9.6 percent higher in February.