US existing home sales surged the most in over a year due to lower interest rates and an increase in inventory.

Driven by a temporary drop in mortgage rates and an increase in housing supply, the number of existing home sales in the United States in March saw the largest increase in over a year. Data released by the National Association of Realtors showed that the index for existing home sales increased by 6.1% to 76.5, the largest increase since December 2023. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 1% growth. The warming of sales in March coincided with a temporary decrease in financing costs, as data from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America showed that 30-year mortgage rates dropped to 6.67% in early March. Rates subsequently rebounded to 6.89%, but even "slight fluctuations" would encourage buyers to enter the market, according to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. Yun stated, "While signing contracts does not guarantee final transactions, a significant increase in contract volume indicates a substantial increase in potential home buyers driven by continued job growth."