US Adds 115K Jobs in April as Q1 GDP Rises 2%

April existing home sales barely moved, rising just 0.2 percent to an annualized rate of 4.02 million units according to the National Association of Realtors. That fell well short of analyst forecasts for a 3 percent gain and left sales flat from a year earlier. Contracts signed in February and March closed in April, when 30-year fixed mortgage rates jumped after the United States entered the war with Iran alongside Israel. Rates had already sat in the high 5 percent range at the end of March and climbed further on fears of energy supply shocks through the Strait of Hormuz.

Lawrence Yun, the NAR chief economist, noted that mortgage rates remain lower than last year and wage growth has outpaced price gains in some areas. Yet those factors proved insufficient to lift volume. Inventory rose 5.8 percent from March but only 1.4 percent from the prior April, leaving a 4.4-month supply that remains far below the six-month balance point. Multiple offers persist in many markets while average days on market stretched to 32, up from 29 a year ago. The median sale price reached a record $417,700 for April, up 0.9 percent year over year.

The same Middle East conflict that lifted borrowing costs for families has produced record profit margins for large corporations. Data from FactSet show the blended net profit margin for S&P 500 companies hit 13.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, the highest level since tracking began in 2009. Technology and industrial sectors led the gains. Despite months of warnings from some Republican lawmakers and media outlets that tariffs and military involvement would crush business, reported margins continued to expand.

Energy prices added pressure on households. European natural gas benchmarks have risen roughly 40 percent since the conflict began, with knock-on effects visible in U.S. fuel and aviation costs. For ordinary Americans the result is straightforward: higher financing expenses that keep first-time buyers on the sidelines and push existing owners to stay put rather than trade up. Inventory growth remains modest, multiple bids continue in desirable neighborhoods, and prices keep climbing.

Corporate balance sheets tell a different story. Strong margins in key sectors have allowed large firms to absorb higher input costs and still deliver record returns to shareholders. The divergence is clear in the data. Home sales sit near multi-year lows while the companies that finance, build, and supply the housing market report peak profitability.

The pattern echoes earlier periods when foreign policy decisions raised domestic borrowing costs without delivering corresponding gains in housing supply or affordability. Until inventory expands significantly or rates ease, the April figures suggest the market will remain tilted against middle-class families seeking to buy a home.