Through monthly data from the NAR, Zillow reports that existing homes sales in March rose 4.4 percent from February to 5.71 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. It was the most existing home sales in a month since February 2007.
Existing home sales exceeded expectations, as a Zillow forecast for March projected sales of 5.48 million units.
For-sale inventory increased 1.9 percent in March to 1.92 million units, the largest inventory increase in six months. The median price for existing homes sold dropped 0.3 percent from the previous month to $243,400. Properties were on the market for only 34 days in March, down 11 days from February.
Regionally, home sales increased in all regions except for the West where they fell 1.6 percent over the month.