Despite the slight decline in March, there are some signs that the housing market is stabilizing. The very important single family home sector of the market fell at a 11% rate during the first quarter this year after falling at a 17% during the last quarter of 2008. If the current pace holds true, second quarter sales will only be down by 2%. March existing home sales included 54% first-time buyers. Industry experts ascertain that first-time buyers are vital to a recovery in the overall market because they make it easier for sellers to trade up or down.
The NAR also reported that the majority of sales in March were for foreclosed homes, which characteristically sell for about 20% less than non-distressed properties. The West saw the biggest drop in sales in March, a little over 4%, while the South and Northeast saw smaller drops. Sales in the Midwest were stagnant. The median price for existing homes across the country was $175k in March, up about 4% from February's median of $168k, but still significantly lower than the median price of just over $200k last March. The inventory of existing unsold homes at month's end in March fell 1.5% to 3.73 million. At the current pace in sales, it would take 9.7 months to deplete the inventory, slightly better than February and January, when it would've taken 9.6 months.
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