Homebuilder sentiment recently reached its third-lowest level since 2012. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association said the post-Memorial Day increase came despite economic uncertainty and largely static interest rates. 

The Northeast and Midwest remained strong, while Florida, which saw a major runup in prices in recent years, continued to cool. 

The 6.3% month-over-month decline was the steepest the U.S. market has seen since September 2022. 

In Denver, home prices rose 1.35% year over year and 1.08% month over month in March. 

Nationally, home sales slid 1.4% year over year but increased 11.3% month over month, RE/MAX said. 

The association noted, however, that 90% of the responses to its survey tracking homebuilder sentiment were received before the announcement of a 90-day reprieve in U.S.-China tariffs. 

The most recent Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows homebuyer activity continued despite the economic uncertainty. 

Homes that are professionally staged not only attract more attention from potential buyers — they also sell faster and for more money, according to data from the National Association of Realtors’® 2025 Profile of Home Staging.  

Despite the deceleration, the company, formerly known as CoreLogic, expects prices to rise another 4.9% over the next year.

The National Association of REALTORS’® Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.9% in March, compared to economists’ expectations of a smaller 1% gain.

The pace of sales rose 7.4% compared to February, topping analyst estimates by a large margin.

The surprisingly large decline in the pace of housing starts comes as builder sentiment remains depressed by tariff worries and high prices. 

“Each interaction indicates buyer interest in that home, and listings with higher engagement levels tend to sell faster and at or above the list price,” Zillow Senior Economist Kara Ng explained.

Meanwhile, purchase applications showed their strongest increase in almost two months, rising 7% year over year.

The National Association of REALTORS’® Pending Home Sales Index rose 2% month over month in February, topping an expected 0.9% gain.