Existing home sales in U.S. continues to drop in April

Existing home sales lost growing momentum last month due to lagging supply and rising prices, an industry report showed Thursday.

Total existing home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co- ops, declined 3.3 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million units in April, but remained above an annual sales pace of 5 million for two months in a row, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in the report.

Existing home sales account for a larger share of the market than new home sales. "April's setback is the result of lagging supply relative to demand and the upward pressure it's putting on prices," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said.

Total housing inventory at the end of April increased 10 percent to 2.21 million existing homes available for sales, which represents a 5.3-month supply at the current sales pace.

The median existing home price for all housing types was 219, 400 U.S. dollars last month, up 8.9 percent from the level a year ago.

Yun said that, with low interest rates and strong job growth, more buyers will be encouraged to enter the market unless prices accelerate even higher in relation to incomes. Endite