Sales of existing homes decreased 3.7% in March to an annual rate of 6.01 million for the second straight monthly decline, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released Thursday.
But the decline was mostly driven by the dearth of inventory in the market, which continues to be below 1 million and came in at 900,000 in March.
The voracious appetite of new homebuyers fleeing apartments and family homes has fueled the market as buyers purchase anything that hits the market. Builders are looking to meet this demand with a flood of new homes coming into the market, but those homes will take months to build.
We expect housing to continue to be red hot throughout the year, as the supply of both existing and new homes struggles to keep up with demand.
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