Existing-home sales were essentially flat in March, while the growth in home prices moderated, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales gains in the Northeast and Midwest were offset by declines in the West and South.
Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, slipped .2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million in March from 4.60 million in February, and are 7.5% below the 4.96 million-unit pace in March 2013. Last month’s sales volume remained the slowest since July 2012, when it was 4.59 million.