After two years of record-setting activity, there are signs the housing market might be cooling. High home prices and a surge in mortgage interest rates are slowing buyer activity, with home sales declining for the third consecutive month under the weight of soaring homeownership costs. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reports existing home sales were down 2.4% from the previous month, while pending sales fell 3.9% as of last measure, extending the trend of recent months. Economists predict sales will continue to soften in the near future, which may put downward pressure on home prices.
New listings increased 20.0 percent for Single Family homes but decreased 15.1 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes. Pending Sales increased 2.7 percent for Single Family homes but decreased 4.3 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes. Inventory increased 38.8 percent for Single Family homes but decreased 2.9 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes.
Month’s Supply of Inventory increased 44.4 percent for Single Family homes but decreased 8.3 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes.
Median Sales Price increased 16.0 percent to $255,130 for Single Family homes and 5.2 percent to $142,000 for Townhouse-Condo homes.
Days on Market decreased 9.5 percent for Single Family homes and 68.0 percent for Townhouse-Condo homes.
The slowdown in sales has provided a much-needed lift to housing supply, with inventory up 10.8% from the previous month according to NAR, although supply remains down 10.4% compared to this time last year, with only 2.2 months’ supply of homes at the current sales pace. As the nation continues to explore ways to solve the ongoing housing shortage, estimated at 5.5 million homes, the Biden administration recently unveiled the Housing Supply Action Plan, which aims to expand housing access through a number of administrative and legislative actions and help relieve the nation’s housing crisis over the next 5 years.
If you are wondering how current national and global situations might be impacting your property’s value, your neighborhood, or the Real Estate market in general, we are happy to provide more specific information.
If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.
