by Calculated Risk on 5/19/2021 12:04:00 PM

From housing economist Tom Lawler:

Based on publicly-available local realtor/MLS reports released across the country through today, I project that existing home sales as estimated by the National Association of Realtors ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.96 million in April, down 0.8% from March’s preliminary pace but up 36.4% from last April’s seasonally adjusted pace.

Local realtor reports, as well as reports from national inventory trackers, suggest that the YOY decline in the inventory of existing homes for sale last month was similar to the big drop in March.

Finally, local realtor/MLS data suggest that the median existing single-family home sales price last month was up by about 18% from last April.

CR Note: The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is scheduled to release April existing home sales on Friday, May 21, 2021 at 10:00 AM ET. The consensus is for 6.09 million SAAR.