Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped in March by the most since November 2015, representing weaker demand that likely is going to get much worse in coming months as the pandemic bears down on the economy.

Contract closings declined 8.5% from the prior month to an annualized 5.27 million, the slowest since April 2019, from a downwardly revised 5.76 million in February,

Housing inventory picked up a little in March but remains down 10.2% YoY and at the lowest level for March in history.

“Based on what we are seeing at the moment, don’t be surprised if the sales activity could be down as much as 30% or even 40% in the next couple of months,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said on a call with reporters.

Source: Existing Home Sales Tumble In March, Face 40% Collapse, NAR Warns | Zero Hedge

The National Association of Realtors reported a stunning decline at the end of March. Hopefully, when we all come out of lockdown, there will be plenty of pent up demand.