Foreclosures, on the other hand, force prices down. They represented more than a third of all sales in April and more are expected in the months ahead.
Since the housing boom went bust, sales have fallen in four of the past five years and hit a 13-year low last year. Declining home prices and low mortgage rates haven’t been enough to boost sales this year.
Some who want to buy can’t, mostly because banks have tightened lending requirements and are insisting on larger down payments. Many buyers who can qualify for loans are holding off.
Economists say it could be years before the housing market fully recovers.
A growing problem is that some sales that are under contract are falling apart. A separate survey from the trade group found 11 percent of realtors said a contract was canceled because an appraisal came in below the negotiated price. And 14 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower price because of a low appraisal.
The median sales price in April was $163,700. That’s down 5 percent from the same month one year ago. The median price of a new home is now nearly 31 percent higher than the median price for a previously occupied home — or twice the normal markup.
The gap is largely because of the flood of foreclosures or short sales — when the lender accepts less than what is owed on the mortgage. Those sales are forcing down prices.
Sales of homes at risk of foreclosure fell in April. But they still made up 37 percent of all purchases.
