Consumer confidence remained near historic lows in April, while stock markets rose to record highs. Existing home sales rose anyway, and NAR’s chief economist said the reason was affordability.
While consumer confidence remained near historic lows in April, the stock market rose to record highs and existing home sales increased.
The National Association of Realtors reported that seasonally adjusted existing home sales rose 0.2% month over month in April to an annual rate of 4.02 million units. Sales were flat compared to the same period last year.
“Despite mixed macroeconomic signals, including record high stock market levels and historically low consumer confidence, home sales received a modest boost from continued improvement in home affordability,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage rates are lower than they were a year ago, and average income growth is outpacing home price growth.”
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.33% in April, down from 6.73% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. NAR’s Housing Affordability Index stood at 110.6 in April, up from 101.4 in the same period last year. Affordability improved year-over-year in all four regions, with the West posting the largest increase at 12.5%.
The median price of existing homes in April reached $417,700, an increase of 0.9% year-on-year, marking the 34th consecutive month of year-on-year increases.
Regional breakdown
Sales moved in different directions across the country. In the Midwest, sales increased by 2.2% from the previous month to 950,000 units. Sales in the South rose 0.5% to 1.87 million units, making it the only region with sales increasing 2.7% year-on-year.
In the Northeast, the number of people was 450,000, which was unchanged from the previous month, but was down 8.2% from the previous year. In the West, unit sales were flat year-on-year, but fell 2.6% from the previous month to 750,000 units.
Inventory and market pace
The total housing inventory in April reached 1.47 million units, an increase of 5.8% from March and 1.4% from the same month last year, equivalent to 4.4 months of supply.
“Inventory remains tight,” Yun said. “There are still multiple offers going on, although not as many as a few years ago. At the same time, days on market are increasing on average, suggesting consumers are taking their time before making a decision.”
The median time properties were on the market in April was 32 days, up from 29 days in April 2025.
First-time buyers accounted for 33% of sales in April, up from 32% in March and down from 34% a year ago. Cash transactions accounted for 25% of sales, unchanged from the same period last year. Distressed sales, foreclosures and short sales accounted for 2% of transactions.
NAR will release existing home sales data for May 2026 on June 9th.
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