The coronavirus pandemic slammed the brakes on a once-roaring housing market.
A new report released Monday by Redfin found that sales and listings experienced historic declines from a year ago – with home sales dropping 22.5 percent in April from a year ago, while the number of homes newly listed for sale plunged 42.4 percent.
“The supply of homes for sale declined even more dramatically than homebuyer demand in April,” Redfin lead economist Taylor Marr said. “While home sales fell the most in more expensive markets, in more affordable areas prices continued to increase. Even during the depths of the slowdown last month, the market was still faster and more competitive than it was a year earlier.”
The report also found:
- There were 24.5 percent fewer homes on the market in April.
- Home prices were up from a year ago, with the rate of growth up 4.9 percent over last year (compared to 6.9 percent in March).
- April home sales fell 23 percent nationwide from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis.
View the full report here.