National Home Sales Continue To Lag
Home sales nationwide dropped less than 1 percent from March to April to 5.05 million but were down almost 13 percent compared to last year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
NAR economist Lawrence Yun said the year-over-year comparison is slightly misleading because of the first-time homebuyer tax credit that fueled the market in 2010.
Still, there was a month-over-month drop from 5.09 million sales in March, which is a figure that was revised downward from original NAR estimates.
Yun said access to credit is "unnecessarily tight" and a steady level of low appraisals is causing contracts to be cancelled.
The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is down from 5.1 percent in April 2010 to 4.84 percent this year.
"Given the great affordability conditions, job creation and pent-up demand, home sales should be stronger," Yun said.
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