Housing activity tumbled for the third straight month in April, as soaring borrowing costs weighed on would-be buyers, YahooFinance.com reported. Existing home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.61 million units in April from a month earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That was down 2.4% from March and 5.9% from one year ago. The figures underscore the tough conditions buyers are facing: low inventory, rising prices and higher mortgage rates. The median listing price in April swelled to a new record $391,000, up 14.8% from April 2021. According to NAR, the numbers reflect fewer large listings and more mid-sized homes entering the market. Realtor.com analysts said growing home prices have increased the cost of financing 80% of a typical home listing by almost 50% compared with a year ago.
