Typically, more homes come on the market in the spring, but so far this year home prices haven’t been as affordable.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of existing homes rose to $408,800 in March, an increase of 1.4% from the same month last year and a record high for the month.
At the same time, other costs have not been mitigated. According to the Consumer Price Index, which measures the prices of daily goods and services, the inflation rate rose 3.3% in March compared to the same month last year. It has remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target since early 2021, continuing to strain household budgets and making it difficult to save for housing.
Borrowing costs have not been reduced much either. According to Mortgage News Daily, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.32% and has remained above 6% for almost four years, putting monthly payments out of reach for many buyers.
With fewer people able to buy homes, existing home sales in March fell 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million, the lowest level since June 2025, according to NAR. This was a weak start to what is typically the busiest home buying season of the year.
“Home sales continued to be weak in March, falling below last year’s pace,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a report. “Weak consumer confidence and slowing job growth continue to deter buyers.”
Taken together, the data suggests the market is cooling, but it doesn’t bring much relief to buyers.
Reasons why purchasers cannot receive relief
There are signs that the market is softening compared to a year ago, with fewer offers on average and fewer homes selling above list price, according to NAR data. Median time on market in March also increased to 41 days from 36 days a year earlier.
But the transition to buyers may be more subtle than it seems.
“This is not yet a true transition to a buyer’s market,” said Michelle Griffith, a New York real estate agent with Douglas Elliman. “The market is normalizing” compared to early 2010, when mortgage rates were low, she said.
Housing inventory is improving, increasing 8.1% year-over-year in March, but remains 13.8% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Realtor.com.
Overall, the U.S. housing market remains short by about 5.5 million units, a gap that continues to put upward pressure on home prices, Yun said.
“Homes are sitting idle for too long, not because there’s a flood of good options out there, but because buyers aren’t aggressive,” said Stacey Staub, a Denver real estate agent and founder of West & Main Homes.
Housing markets vary depending on where you live.
Although U.S. home prices are increasing overall, trends vary widely by region. According to NAR, median home prices rose 5.7% year over year in the Northeast in March, but rose only 0.8% in the South and fell 1.3% in the West.
“While some metros, especially parts of the South and Sunbelt where new construction is booming, are becoming more buyer-friendly, other metros, especially the Northeast, remain relatively tough,” said Matt Vernon, head of consumer finance at Bank of America.
Gerald Splendor, a real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Warburg in New York City, said the divide is also reflected in buyers’ behavior on the ground.
“The buyers I work with are ‘considering’ making an offer over a month in advance, even though they see at least four or five good listings every weekend,” he says.
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