Existing-home sales ticked up 0.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million, while remaining flat from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) April Existing Home Sales report released Monday.

The report offers a mixed view for housing professionals: slightly stronger demand, more inventory on the market and a notable improvement in affordability, but still-elevated mortgage rates and wide regional variation in sales.

NAR reported that total existing-home sales, which include single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops, came in at an annualized pace of 4.02 million in April. That was up 0.2% from March but unchanged compared with April 2025.

Total housing inventory reached 1.47 million units at the end of April, a 5.8% increase from March and 1.4% higher than a year ago. That equates to a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.2 months in March and 4.3 months a year earlier.

In more recent data, HousingWire Data shows that an estimated 83,993 existing homes were sold during the week that ended on May 8, 2026, with a median sales price of $415,000. Compared to the same time period a year ago, estimated existing home sales are up 6.3%, while the median home sales price remained relatively flat. 

As of May 8, 2026, HW Data shows that there are 767,132 active listings, up 5,528 homes from the previous week and up 1.5% compared to a year ago. As with NAR’s data, HW Data also show an annual increase in median days on market, which came in at 56 days for the week ending on May 8, 2026, up from 49 days a year prior.

“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 in the NAR release. “Mortgage rates are lower from a year ago, and average income growth is outpacing home price gains.”

Yun cautioned that inventory “still remains tight” and that while multiple-offer situations are less intense than during the pandemic boom, they are still present. Days on market are stretching out on average, he said, suggesting buyers are taking more time to make decisions.

According to NAR, homes sold in a median of 32 days in April, an improvement from 41 days in March but longer than the 29-day median in April 2025.

The median existing-home sales price for all housing types rose to $417,700 in April, up 0.9% from $414,000 a year earlier. It marked the 34th consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.

Despite the increase, NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showed a meaningful improvement. The index registered 110.6 in April, up from 101.4 a year earlier. Regionally, affordability improved year-over-year by 4.7% in the Northeast, 5.9% in the Midwest, 9.6% in the South and 12.5% in the West. 

For lenders and real estate agents, the combination of easing affordability and still-rising prices suggests demand is stabilizing rather than surging, and that buyers remain rate-sensitive but are gradually returning as incomes catch up with home values.

According to NAR, 16% of April transactions involved individual investors or second-home buyers, down from 18% in March but slightly higher than the 15% share a year ago. The group attributed the increase in second-home activity over the past year to stronger finances among higher-income households and the persistence of remote and hybrid work.

First-time buyers accounted for 33% of sales, up from 32% in March but slightly below the 34% share a year earlier, according to NAR’s Realtors Confidence Index.

Cash buyers made up 25% of transactions, down from 27% in March and unchanged from April 2025. Distressed sales, including foreclosures and short sales, remained low at 2% of transactions, flat from both the prior month and a year ago.

Regionally, existing home sales rose month-over-month in the Midwest (950,000) and the South (1.87 million), rising 2.2% and 0.5%, respectively from March, while they fell 2.6% in the West to a pace of 750,000 units and remained steady in the Northeast at a pace of 450,000 units. Compared to a year ago, existing home sales were down 8.2% and 1% in the Northeast and Midwest, respectively, while the West remained unchanged and the South improved by 2.7% on an annual basis.

This article was written by Brooklee Han and generated with the assistance of HousingWire Automation. It was reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication. The system helps convert company announcements and industry data into HousingWire-style news coverage.