U.S. Existing Home Sales (April 2026)

Existing home sales rise modestly in April

• Existing home sales rose 0.2% month-on-month (m/m) to 4.02 million units (annualized) in April – below the market consensus forecast calling for a slightly better increase to 4.05 million. The sales level was unchanged on a year-over-year basis. 
• Sales in the single-family segment were flat at 3.64 million, while sales in the smaller condo/co-op segment increased 2.7% m/m to 380,000. Sales performance was mixed regionally, with activity rising 2.2% in the Midwest, 0.5% in the South, unchanged in the Northeast, and falling 1.4% in the West. 
• Unadjusted inventory levels stood at 1.47 million, up 5.8% from March and 1.4% from April 2025. Measured at the current sales rate and seasonally adjusting, unsold inventory stood at 4.3 months' supply, the same as in the two months prior, but up modestly from 4.2 in April 2025. 
• The median home price was up 0.9% year-on-year – a mild deceleration from 1.5% in the months prior, but still slightly better from a pace of 0.4% in the first few months of the year. 

Key Implications

• Existing home sales managed to eke out a very modest gain in April, coming in below market expectations for a slightly better outturn. Today's report doesn't change the status quo, with sales still activity hovering at very low levels of around 4 million (annualized), inventory still relatively tight, and price growth continuing at just a moderate pace. Aside from the regional makeup, which continues to show a notable underperformance in the Northeast – with sales there currently at their lowest level in multiple decades – little else stood out from today's report.  
• Mortgage rates for the traditional 30-year fixed continue to hover near 6.4%, about 40 basis points above their recent trough just before the start of the Middle East conflict. This recent uptick chips away at buyers' purchasing power, at a time when they are already contending with other notable cost increases, particularly in transportation fuels. Though buyers can get a better rate from alternative financing structures such as adjustable-rate mortgages, these tend to make a better fit for only a small subset of buyers (see here). Though a still-resilient labor market is providing some support, the current backdrop argues against a quick rebound in sales, with activity likely to improve only gradually at best over the near term. 

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