Existing home sales drop; Orders for big-ticket items surge; Jack in the Box plans closings

Nationwide unit sales of existing single-family homes declined 5.9% in March from the prior month and also fell 2.4% from a year earlier, as the median sale price posted a 2.7% annual increase to $403,700, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

The trade group said about 4 million single-family homes, including townhouses and condominiums, were sold during the month, marking the slowest March pace since 2009 based on seasonally adjusted annual figures.

“Home buying and selling remained sluggish in March due to the affordability challenges associated with high mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Residential housing mobility, currently at historical lows, signals the troublesome possibility of less economic mobility for society.”

Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at forecasting firm Oxford Economics, said March sales trends reversed a surprise uptick posted in February, as for-sale inventory rose sharply from a year earlier. “We expect sales to remain sluggish through the rest of 2025, with elevated mortgage rates alongside a weaker economy weighing on activity,” Vanden Houten said in a statement.

Other analysts have cited lingering high borrowing costs and overall economic uncertainty among factors clouding buyer confidence and keeping prospective sellers on the sidelines. Still, the government reported this week that March sales of newly built single-family houses increased 7.4% from the prior month and topped the year-earlier figure by 6%. 

New U.S. orders for big-ticket durable goods, meant to last more than three years, soared 9.2% from the prior month in March as buyers looked to obtain items like cars, aircraft and business equipment before big import tariffs took effect, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Analysts at Oxford Economics said March orders totaling $315.7 billion “blasted past expectations,” but likely won’t spur the forecasting firm to alter its projections for 2025 business equipment spending. Volatile transportation equipment orders drove much of the March surge, rising 27%, as other core items showed slighter gains.

“Core orders are poised to decline in the next months as businesses contend with tighter financial conditions, an outsized sticker shock when purchasing equipment, and the uncertainty around tariff policy,” Oxford Lead U.S. Economist Bernard Yaros said in a statement.

Government data showed notable March gains in orders for categories such as manufacturing at 12.2%, communications equipment at 3.1%, and motor vehicles and parts at 2.3%. Nondefense aircraft and parts orders increased 139% from the prior month.

Jack in the Box plans to close 150 to 200 underperforming restaurants, including up to 120 by the end of this year, as the burger chain joins other U.S. operators responding to slowing sales and rising costs.

The San Diego-based company is also considering selling the Del Taco chain, which it acquired in 2022 for $575 million, as part of larger efforts to streamline operations “within a simplified and asset-light business model,” CEO Lance Tucker said in a statement this week.

Jack in the Box seeks to boost cash flow and pay down debt “by selling a select number of owned real estate holdings,” though specific targeted locations were not announced. Planned closings amount to around 10% of the total 2,200 Jack locations in 22 states, which are primarily franchised rather than company owned.

Company officials are still planning to invest $100 million to $105 million this year on capital projects such as development and remodelings, with up to 40 openings slated for 2025. Jack in the Box had not recently shown signs of distress, and in just the past year announced new franchise agreements to open more than 100 restaurants across Illinois, Florida, Michigan and several other states beyond its traditional West Coast focus.

But like other operators, the 74-year-old company encountered slowing sales and profit growth as costs rose substantially, especially for labor in its California home base. The majority of Jack restaurants targeted for closure have been in its system for more than three decades, company officials said.