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US existing home sales rise slightly in April
United States existing home sales remain relatively steady in April, as affordability remains an issue. According to the National Association of Realtors Existing Homes Report, existing home sales rose 0.2% month-over-month in April to 4.02 million units. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast home resales would rise to a rate of 4.05 million. There was also no change in home sales year-over-year, even as the median existing home price rose 0.9%. This marks the 34th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. Month-over-month sales increased in the Midwest and the South, were unchanged in the Northeast, and declined in the West. On a year-over-year basis, sales rose in the South, were flat in the West, and fell in both the Northeast and Midwest. This also comes as mortgage rates are lower than a year ago, and average income growth is outpacing home price gains. “Despite mixed macroeconomic signals—including a record-high stock market and historically low consumer confidence—home sales were modestly boosted by the continued improvement in housing affordability,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. Yun also said inventory remains tight, but offers are still being made. “Multiple offers, though no
Reports
US median home prices slid to a 4yr low in March
United States home sales in March grew more than expected as the median selling price slid to a more than 4-year low. According to the United States Census Bureau, new single-family sales increased 7.4% from February to an annualised pace of 682,000, the fastest pace of the year. The median estimate from Bloomberg was 652,000. The median price of new houses also dropped 5.3% below the February price and 6.2% below the March 2025 price to US$387,400. Around 22,000 homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000 were sold, the most in that category in nearly five years. The South was the nation’s biggest home-selling region, increasing 11.1%. The pickup in sales suggests a gradual improvement in affordability since the middle of last year, which is slowly generating more demand. Homebuilders, who have been using a combination of incentives and price cuts, saw a pickup in prospective buyer traffic in March after severe winter weather had limited buyer demand earlier this year. However, this also comes as mortgage rates have risen from a recent low at the end of February, which could hamper homebuying activity in the coming months.
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Home value growth eases in Australia
Cotality’s national home value index rose by just 0.3%, marking its slowest pace of growth since January 2025, driven by declines in Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney home values are 1% lower than their November peak, while Melbourne values are 1.9% lower than their November 2025 cyclical high and 2.3% lower than the March 2022 peak. Every capital city recorded a slower pace of growth during April, but conditions remain highly diverse. Perth values rose 2.1% in April, adding more than A$21,000 to the median dwelling value. Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin also saw growth slow, but from a high base, with values still rising by more than 1% month-on-month in each city. Cotality research director Tim Lawless said the housing market has been losing momentum from late last year as affordability and serviceability constraints weighed on demand. “Now we have the additional downside pressure of higher interest rates, sentiment has fallen off a cliff, and rising inflation is set to drive the cost of debt even higher,” he said. Softer housing conditions are a result of a slowdown in buyer demand. Estimates of capital city home sales over the past three months were 5.4% lower than a year ago and 7.4% below the previous five-y
Reports
US pending home sales improve slightly in March
United States pending home sales improved slightly in March 2026, despite higher mortgage rates. They increased by 1.5% month-over-month and 1.1% year-over-year, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales report. Month-over-month pending home sales rose in the Northeast and South, and declined in the Midwest and West. Year-over-year pending home sales rose in the South, and declined in the Northeast, Midwest and West. “Contract signings rose in March despite higher mortgage rates, pointing to pent-up housing demand,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “A greater supply of inventory will help translate that demand into more home sales. “Demand sensitivity to mortgage rates is greatest among first-time buyers, particularly younger buyers. “As a result, boosting supply and new-home construction should focus on smaller, more affordable homes.” At the same time, mortgage rates began to soar due to the conflict in the Middle East. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.38% at the end of March, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. It averaged 5.98% at the end of February before the war started. The NAR also reported that existing home s
Reports
Australian housing profitability hits 20-year high
Australian home resale gains reached their highest level in more than two decades during the December quarter, according to a fresh report from Cotality. The 102,000 resales analysed in Cotality’s Pain & Gain report, 95.9% record a profit. This is a slight jump from the 95.6% recorded in the last quarter and the strongest result since 2005. The median gain also reached a record A$365,000 while the median loss edged higher to $45,000. Cotality's head of research, Gerard Burg, said these results come from gains that have been built over time and reflect the accumulation of value growth over recent years. “Most sellers have held their property for close to a decade, so the results we’re seeing now are a product of sustained value growth rather than short-term market movements,” Burg said. Properties with higher ownership periods were more likely to record a profit. Properties that sold at a profit had a median hold period of 9.2 years, while those that recorded a loss had a median of 8.2 years. “Shorter ownership periods remain the key risk factor for losses, particularly for those who purchased closer to recent market peaks,” Burg said. “The longer a property is held, the more likely it is to absorb cyclical

Reports
US existing home sales unexpectedly up 1.7% in Feb
United States existing home sales unexpectedly rose in February as mortgage rates continued to drop, though prices could soon increase if demand begins outpacing slow inventory growth. Sales were up 1.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is above Reuters-polled economists’ forecast of 3.89 million units, but a 1.4% decrease year-over-year. “Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding,” said NAR chief economist Dr Lawrence Yun. “Still, there is a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels of transaction activity. There are more than 6 million more jobs than in 2019, yet home sales per year are down by one million.” “Despite the modest gain in home sales, actual housing demand remains muted relative to wage growth and job gains,” Yun said. “Wage growth is now outpacing home price growth by almost four percentage points. Mortgage rates are also measurably lower compared to a year ago.” NAR’s affordability index rose, reaching 117.6 in February. This is the highest reading since March 2022, surpassing the 117.1 seen in January and February 2025’s 103.1. Mortgage rates continued to slide last mont
Reports
Australia's housing market growth splits in two
The Australian housing market has been split in two speeds, with Sydney and Melbourne values flatlining while the mid-sized capitals continue to record a solid rate of gain at more than 1% month-over-month in February. Perth home values had the greatest growth of 2.3%, adding more than A$22,500 to the median dwelling value. Sydney and Melbourne have been less resilient to the February rate hike, with home values remaining flat for the month and down 0.1% and 0.4% over the rolling quarter, respectively. Cotality research director Tim Lawless said that while Melbourne and Sydney traditionally lead Australia’s housing cycles, there have also been periods where the market moves in a counter-cyclical pattern. “The clear slowdown in housing conditions across Sydney and Melbourne could signal an easing in growth conditions elsewhere down the track, but for now, the mid-sized capitals continue to see support from extremely low inventory levels, which is boosting the growth in values,” he said. In the four weeks to February 22, Perth listings remained 48% below their five-year average, with Brisbane 31% below and Adelaide 23% lower. While advertised stock levels are also low in Sydney and Melbourne, they are only 1% and 4
Reports
Coastal property values rebound from floods
Property values in Australia’s desirable coastal suburbs have recovered from floods far faster than those in inland or regional areas, according to a Cotality report. Coastal suburbs in southeast Queensland largely saw property values rebound within 18 months after floods in early 2022, while values in many affected inland areas in northern New South Wales remain below their January 2022 levels. “This analysis demonstrates that lifestyle-based demand remains a stronger driver of value than climate risk, even where lived experience has shown communities how significant the effects of natural disasters can be,” said Cotality head of sustainability solutions Richard Griffiths. “Our analysis shows that communities with deeper buyer demand, stronger amenities and higher value housing stock tend to bounce back far quicker, even when they have sustained significant physical damage from an event. Conversely, flood-affected inland and regional areas have faced prolonged stagnation and, in many cases, values that still haven’t returned to where they were in early 2022.” Combined, property values in the impacted coastal markets surveyed were up 31.3% from January 2022 to January 2026. Broadbeach Waters and southern Southport p
Reports
US pending home sales drop unexpectedly; supply stalls
United States pending home sales fell 0.8% in January amid insufficient supply growth, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR’s pending home sales index declined to 70.9, despite Reuters-polled economists projecting a monthly increase of 1.3%. Pending sales also dropped 0.4% year-over-year in January. “Improving affordability conditions have yet to induce more buying activity,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “With mortgage rates nearing 6%, an additional 5.5 million households that could not qualify for a mortgage one year ago would qualify at today’s lower rates.” “Unless housing supply increases, these additional potential buyers becoming active in the market could simply push up home prices. This will put increasing pressure on affordability, which is why it is critical to increase supply by building more homes.” The Northeast saw the largest decrease in pending sales, down 5.7% on a monthly basis. Pending sales in the South also dropped 4.5%, while the Midwest and West reported increases of 5% and 4.3%, respectively. JPMorgan forecast last month that home prices would remain flat across 2026, saying that rising demand from low mortgage rates would be countered by stalling growth in