Tag Archives: Pending-Home Sales

After a five-week string of declining rates, mortgage rates rose modestly for the second consecutive week, on the eve of the GSE’s enacting changes to loan-level price adjustments geared toward tackling housing affordability challenges nationwide.

According to a new CoreLogic report, single-family rent price growth was up by nearly 6% year-over-year in January, marking the lowest rate of appreciation since the spring of 2021.

“Prices falling from a year ago is a milestone because it hasn’t happened since the housing market was recovering from the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. But it’s not surprising and in many ways, it’s welcome,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr.

Redfin reports that 2023 has begun with homes selling for nearly the same price as a year earlier, with nationwide prices up just 0.5% year-over-year.

According to said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, “Pending home sales recorded the second-lowest monthly reading in 20 years as interest rates, which climbed at one of the fastest paces on record this year, drastically cut into the number of contract signings to buy a home.”

NAR reports that month-over-month, contract signings fell in three of four major U.S. regions, with only the Midwest showing signs of improvement.

The latest analysis from the National Association of Realtors revealed pending home sales slipped in September, down 10.2% from August, decreasing in all regions compared to 2021.

With home sales on the decline and mortgage application volume falling to a 25-year low, Redfin reports sellers’ time on market has doubled from the spring as buyers wait for both prices and rates to come down.

Redfin reports that housing market activity is plunging further this fall than it did over the summer, with increased concern over 20-year high mortgage rates compounded by a volatile U.S. economy.

While home prices remain elevated due to low supply, mortgage rates shot up to a 15-year high resulting in homebuyers losing nearly 30% of their purchasing power since rates reached their lowest point in 2021.