With the kids back in school and the weather cooling, the housing market begins its annual cooldown as well. Nationally, buyer and seller activity remained strong, buoyed by low mortgage rates and a strong economy. The market fundamentals suggest no significant changes from recent trends, other than the seasonally tempered pace we see this time of year. As we move into the final three months of 2019, buyers will find fewer homes coming on the market, but also less competition for those homes.
New Listings increased 24.3 percent for Single Family homes and 44.0 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes. Pending Sales increased 22.6 percent for Single Family homes and 48.8 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes. Inventory decreased 1.4 percent for Single Family homes but increased 19.2 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes.
In Washington there are discussions around a broad overhaul of the housing finance system, including the reprivatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reforms to federal agencies involved with financing substantial portions of the mortgages made every year. Many of these policy conversations and eventual changes will take months or years to be implemented and their impact is not yet clear. While Halloween decorations are beginning to adorn homes around the country, the real estate market this fall is looking far from scary.
