According to data released by the National Association of Realtors (National Association of Realtors) on Wednesday, the annual rate of housing transactions in April fell 1.9% from the previous month to 4.14 million units. This figure is lower than economists' median estimate of 4.23 million units in foreign media surveys.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement: “Housing prices hit a record high in April, which is good news for homeowners. However, the pace of price increases is expected to slow gradually as more housing inventories appear.”

Although demand has rebounded since it hit a 13-year low in October last year, limited inventory has hindered market development, causing housing prices to remain high. At the beginning of 2021, annualized home sales were more than 2 million units higher than they are now. At the time, mortgage interest rates were around 3%, but now they are 7%.

According to the latest data from the American Mortgage Bankers Association (Mortgage Bankers Association), mortgage interest rates have remained above 7% for 7 consecutive weeks. Federal Reserve policymakers say they won't rush to lower borrowing costs until inflation gets close to the target.

Yun notes that inventory has risen slightly in recent months because some sellers feel they can't put off moving any longer. However, current inventories are still far below pre-pandemic levels. In April, the second-hand housing market supply increased by more than 16% over the same period last year, reaching 1.21 million units.

At the current rate of sales, it would take 3.5 months to sell all the properties on the market. Real estate agents believe any supply below five months indicates a tight market.

In terms of sales prices, the median house sales price rose 5.7% from the same period last year to 407,600 US dollars, the highest value in April since 1999. Unlike the new housing market, prices in the second-hand housing market rose year on year. In the new home market, increased inventories and general incentives for builders have pushed prices down year over year.

“Unfortunately, prices continue to rise, further denying low- and even middle-income Americans the opportunity to buy homes,” said Robert Frick, a corporate economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union (Navy Federal Credit Union). “The only thing that can really ease this situation is the Fed's interest rate cut later this year, which will eventually affect mortgage interest rates.”

Of the houses sold, about 68% were on the market for less than a month, up from 60% in March, while more than a quarter sold for a higher price than the listing price.

The NAR report also showed that the average number of days a house was sold on the market in April was 26 days, down from 33 days a month ago, and lower than the typical situation during the spring sales season. Sellers received an average of 3.2 offers.

One reason economists' estimates may be biased is that their predictions are often based on completed sales reports for existing homes measuring contract status. This number increased in February and March.

Yun said that apart from the large sample size in existing home sales reports, signing a contract does not always mean a deal because of factors such as housing inspections, evaluations, and potential issues with mortgage lenders. He added that buyers may also change their minds after signing the contract.

Existing home sales account for a major portion of the US housing market and are calculated at the end of the contract. The US government will release new home sales data for April on Thursday.