Home sales rose in March before interest rates rose again

With mortgage interest on them lowest level in March Home sales rose last month in years, new industry data shows.

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According to Remax’s latest national housing report, home sales rose 31.6% in March compared to February, the biggest month-on-month increase since 37.4% in 2023. Sales rose 3.4% compared to last year.

“The increase in turnover in March is a signal that buyers and sellers are talking to each other again the spring market is gaining momentum,” Remax President and Chief Growth Officer Chris Lim said in a press release on Monday. “At the same time, subdued price growth and inventory changes may indicate the pace is becoming more deliberate, pointing to a housing market shifting towards equilibrium rather than momentum. This suggests that the next phase of the housing market will be driven less by speed and more by precision.”

One factor contributing to the national increase was an increase in new listings, which rose 29% month over month, but was still 4% lower than a year earlier. The number of active listings grew 4.4% annually and 4.5% month-over-month, the report found.

The average sales price also rose last month to $440,000, up $10,000, or 2.3%, from February, and up $5,000, or 1.1%, from a year ago. Buyers paid 99% of the asking price in March, up slightly from 98% in February and the same as in March 2025, the report said.

Homes spent an average of 49 days on the market last month, an improvement of seven days from the previous month, but five days longer year-over-year. As a result, inventory was at 2.3 months, down from 2.8 in February and up from 2.2 months a year ago.

Markets are gaining momentum

Minneapolis was a good example of a rebound in marketing momentum: Closed-home sales rose 46.7% month-over-month, though they were still down 0.8% from a year earlier. Active inventory and new listings increased 10.1% and 2.4% year over year.

“Mortgage rates were below 6% earlier this year, which contributed to that significant increase, but we saw them rise in March, which may have put a temporary damper on the excitement,” Justin Fox, broker and owner of Remax Professionals in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, said in the press release. “Now it seems the tariffs have started trending back down. Overall, I see pent-up demand in the mid-price market with robust exchange activity and multiple offerings.”

New Orleans saw significant year-over-year changes in closed transactions, up 21.8%, and inventory, up 6.2%. Bozeman, Montana, posted the largest annual increase in closed transactions at 38.7%, followed by Omaha, Nebraska, Manchester, New Hampshire and Wichita, Kansas, the report said.