Despite high borrowing costs and insufficient supply, U.S. second-hand home contracts reached their highest level in a year in March, according to Jinshi. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) second-hand home contract volume index climbed 3.4% to 78.2.

However, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the index has remained in a fairly narrow range over the past 12 months without a clear breakout. Recent sales of used homes have lagged behind new home sales as U.S. home builders have lowered interest rates for customers or offered other favorable terms to facilitate transactions. At the same time, the supply of used homes in the market is far below pre-pandemic levels. Many in the used housing industry are eager for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, and Yun last week blamed interest rates for the market remaining "stagnant."