2025 Is Off To A Steady Start. According to ATTOM’s First Quarter 2025 U.S. Home Sales Report released This Week in Real Estate, the average profit from home sales was 50.2%, or $119,000, down from $124,000 in the previous quarter. Despite a slight decline in profit margins since summer 2022, they remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, noted that while “sellers may not be enjoying quite the same windfall they were a few years ago but by historical standards profits are strong, both in terms of margins and raw dollar value.” The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau reported that new home sales in March were near their highest pace since early 2022, while existing home sales receded. However, for the first time in a March the median sales price of an existing home exceeded $400,000, underscoring the ongoing affordability pressure. Additionally, mortgage interest rates dropped to their lowest levels in nearly three weeks, as reported by Mortgage News Daily. Below are key events from the fourth week of April impacting our business:
NEW HOME SALES RISE IN MARCH. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in March increased 7.4% to a 724,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate. The pace of new home sales in March was up 6.0% compared to a year earlier. The March new home sales data shows that demand continues to be present in the market, provided affordability conditions permit a purchase. An increase in economic certainty would be a big boost to future sales conditions. Lower mortgage interest rates helped boost the pace of new home sales in March. In February, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 6.84%, while in March it fell to 6.65%. New single-family home inventory in March continued to rise to a level of 503,000, up 7.9% compared to a year earlier. This represents an 8.3 months’ supply at the current building pace. This level of supply continues to be reasonable given that the resale, single-family months’ supply remains lean at just 3.4. The count of completed, ready-to-occupy homes available for sale increased to 119,000, up 34% from a year ago. The count of new homes available for sale that are under construction (263,000 in March) is down 5% year-over-year. Read the full story here.
EXISTING-HOME SALES RECEDED 5.9% IN MARCH. Total existing-home sales fell 5.9% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million in March. Year-over-year, sales drew back 2.4% (down from 4.12 million in March 2024). Total housing inventory registered at the end of March was 1.33 million units, up 8.1% from February and 19.8% from one year ago (1.11 million). Unsold inventory sits at a 4.0-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.5 months in February and 3.2 months in March 2024. The median existing-home price3 for all housing types in March was $403,700, up 2.7% from one year ago ($392,900). Properties typically remained on the market for 36 days in March, down from 42 days in February but up from 33 days in March 2024. Read the full story here.
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