US existing home sales fall to nine-month low as prices rise

In March, the sales of existing homes in the United States dropped to the lowest level since June, highlighting the challenges faced by the real estate market in the crucial spring selling season. Data released by the National Association of Realtors on Monday showed that existing home sales decreased by 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million units, below the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The report indicated that the Iran conflict is affecting the U.S. economy in different ways. Since the outbreak of the conflict, mortgage rates have significantly risen, exacerbating affordability issues in the housing market and potentially hindering the recovery of the peak selling season. NAR also sharply reduced its forecast for existing home sales growth in 2026 from a previous estimate of 14% to 4%. NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun stated in a release, "The rise in mortgage rates prompted us to lower our home sales forecast for this year." The report showed that the median home sales price in March increased by 1.4% year-on-year to $408,800. Inventory slightly rose to a four-month high but remains at historically low levels.