According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes fell 2.5 percent from March to April. April sales were also down 1.4 percent from the previous year.
These numbers were lower than expert forecasts—April sales hit a seasonally adjusted 5.46 million annual pace, while economists had expected a 5.50 million pace, according to Realtor.com.
It’s all about supply, said David Berson, chief economist for Nationwide Insurance, who previously served in that role for many years at Fannie Mae. Low inventory will be the main story of the market over the course of 2018, Berson said. “We expect that this will be the high-water mark for sales in this cycle,” he added.