Existing Home Sales Fall -2.6%, to a 4 Year Low

April existing home sales, which are a delayed indication of contracts signed a month or two earlier, fell -2.6% MoM in April, to the lowest level in almost four years. March's decline was reduced marginally from -8.4% to -7.9% in this month's revisions. Existing homes make up 85% of the total number of homes for sale in the U.S. at any given time.

Single family existing home sales fell -2.4% MoM, and condo sales fell -3.8% MoM. Regionally, the Northeast saw the largest drop in existing home sales, -8.8% MoM. The declines of the past two months have now fully offset the surprising leap of 15% in February in the Northeast. The other three regions saw declines between -.7% and -1.7% MoM.

At the current sales rate, the supply of homes leaped a month to 8.4 months, and to the highest level since 1992. For condos only, the supply jumped to 9.5 months.

Median prices for single family homes fell -.9% YoY while condo prices actually rose 1% YoY. By region, the Midwest saw a +1.9% YoY increase in prices, while the other three regions saw declines ranging from -.3%YoY in the South to -2.1% YoY in the West.

Compared to a year ago, total sales are down -8.2% YoY. The West has seen the substantial decline, falling -15.3% YoY. The other three regions have seen more modest decreases, running from -5.5% YoY in the Northeast to -6.9% YoY in the Midwest.

Based on yesterday's strong new home data, it appears that homeowners need to cut prices further to draw buyers.