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U.S. Existing-Home Sales Continued to Falter in April

WASHINGTON—Sales of previously owned U.S. homes declined for the second month in a row in April, suggesting continued weakness in the housing market despite the strong labor market.

Existing-home sales fell 0.4% in April from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal predicted sales increased 2.7% last month to an annual pace of 5.35 million.

Compared with a year earlier, sales in April declined 4.4%. Sales have been declining on a year-over-year basis for more than a year.

Lawrence Yun, the trade group’s chief economist, said the housing market is “underperforming in relation to economic performance, with job creation and [lower] mortgage rates.”

A shortage of homes for sale in some areas has led to a rapid run-up in home prices. At the same time, rates on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage almost topped 5% at the end of last year, a level analysts say could deter people from buying a home, though rates have since ticked down this year. Both factors helped prompt a broader sales slowdown in 2018 that is continuing into 2019.

The median sale price for an existing home in April was $267,300, up 3.6% from a year earlier. This was the highest April median price on the trade group’s records. There was a 4.2-month supply of homes on the market at the end of April, based on the current sales pace. This is up from a 4.0 pace last April.

“Inventories are higher, but only modestly…anything in the four [month supply range] is more a seller’s market,” Mr. Yun said.

Purchases of previously owned homes account for most of U.S. homebuying. The Commerce Department publishes its gauge of April new-home sales on Thursday. In March, sales of newly built houses were a brighter spot for the housing market, with such purchases rising in most U.S. regions.

Home builders seem to be responding to the new-home demand. Home building in the U.S. increased in April, driven by an uptick in single-family construction across much of the country. A gauge of home-builder confidence, meanwhile, rose to the highest level since last fall.

News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, also operates Realtor.com under license from the National Association of Realtors.

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