The number of million-dollar U.S. homes has dropped dramatically from a record high last year.
They now account for 7% of all U.S. houses, down from 8.6% in June 2022, according to an analysis by Dana Anderson at Redfin.
This could signal a reversal in the housing market, at least on the luxury side. Prices soared so high and so fast that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raised their lending limits to $1 million in some metros back in 2021. The 18% hike was the highest single jump since at least 1970, outpacing the 15.9% increase seen in 2006.
The exception to the current trend is Florida, which now has more homes worth $1 million than it did last year…
The 2023 spring homebuying season may be cooler than in previous red-hot years, but competition will still be plentiful.
According to a new Zillow analysis, ongoing stock shortages mean that even as fewer buyers enter the market this year, those who do will be competing for many of the same homes.
Affordable markets like Cincinnati and St. Louis are likely to see the most competition, especially on lower-priced homes.
The number of homes for sale now is equal to the number in 2021, which set a record for scarcity at the time. So while homes may sit on the market a little longer and sellers may have to make concessions, the chances of selling a home are still good, so…
Rate lock volumes increased across the board in January, finally breaking a nine-month downward streak, as buyers began stepping out before the spring season.
Lock volumes rose 32% last month, according to Black Knight’s Originations Market Report.
“Mortgage rates declined in January, continuing a trend that began in early November 2022. Conforming rates dropped 36 basis points from where they were at the start of the year, and we saw that rates associated with those FHA/VA/jumbo locks all came down in kind,” said Kevin McMahon, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight.
“Triggered by this pullback, rate lock volumes rose for the first time since March 2022, driven by declining interest rates and seasonal tailwinds, snapping a nine-month…
Homebuyers are finally starting to see some moderation in prices as the market corrects. The cost of a new mortgage fell 4.8% in November as mortgage rates plunged, according to Zillow’s latest Market Report. This is only the second time mortgage costs have declined in the past 19 months. Falling home values and shrinking mortgage rates forced prices to cool. Rates dropped 57 basis points in November alone. The typical U.S. home saw its value shrink 0.2% from October to November, and is down 0.5% from a peak in June. Renters also reaped the benefits of declining values, with rents seeing their largest single-month drop in the seven-year history of Zillow’s data. Affordability remains a challenge. Monthly mortgage costs are…
Home price appreciation is now half of what it was in April, its lowest recorded point since early 2021, according to new data from CoreLogic. October’s CoreLogic Home Price Index recorded a 10.1% increase YOY. Though still elevated, it continues to decrease from record highs earlier this year. The coming months are expected to push growth back into single digits. Month-over-month, prices were down 0.1% from September. Low inventory, waning buyer purchase power, and economic uncertainty are at the heart of the issue, CoreLogic leaders say. Price growth is expected to cool through next spring when the housing market may go negative before slowly rebounding in the latter half of 2023. CoreLogic predicts appreciation will be 4.1% next October. “Following…
Rent prices are easing in most American cities thanks to a boost in available units. Sixty-eight of the country’s largest metros saw month-over-month rent declines in October, according to researchers at Florida Atlantic University and two other schools. The average rental rate was $2,040, down 0.9% from September. Springfield, MA, Austin, TX, Seattle, and New York were among the cities where rents posted declines. “It seems that an increase in supply helped relieve the pricing pressure on rental units around the country – and that’s exactly what had to happen,” said Ken H. Johnson, Ph.D., an economist in FAU’s College of Business. He noted that delivery of units under construction, as well as increasing unit density and conversions of short-term…
Home price appreciation continued to cool in September though growth remained elevated from a year earlier, according to new data. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index saw home prices decelerate, posting a 10.6% annual gain in August, down from 12.9% in the previous month. Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI, said all three composites are above their historical medians but peaked about six months ago. “As has been the case for the past several months, our September 2022 report reflects short-term declines and medium-term deceleration in housing prices across the U.S.,” he said. “As the Federal Reserve continues to move interest rates higher, mortgage financing continues to be more expensive and housing becomes less affordable. Given the…
Homebuyers saw affordability plunge in September as the typical monthly payment rose $102 from August. The national median payment applied for by applicants jumped to $1,941 from $1,839 in the month prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index fell for a second consecutive month, up 5.5% to a reading of 163.6. PAPI measures monthly payments across time and relative to income, so this reading indicates that payments on new mortgages accounted for a smaller share of a typical person’s income. The increase reverses four months of improvement from an index high of 164.2 in May. “With mortgage rates continuing to rise, the purchasing power of borrowers is shrinking. The median loan amount in September was $305,550…
Existing-home sales dropped for the eighth straight month in September, down 1.5% from August and 23.8% YOY, according to the most recent data from the National Association of Realtors. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.71 million and declined in three of the four major regions. The West saw no change. “Despite weaker sales, multiple offers are still occurring with more than a quarter of homes selling above list price due to limited inventory,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The current lack of supply underscores the vast contrast with the previous major market downturn from 2008 to 2010, when inventory levels were four times higher than they are today.” Inventory of unsold homes fell 2.3% from…
With rates rising and home price appreciation still high, Americans are looking for cheap places to buy homes. September’s hottest housing markets are known for their affordability. Rochester, NY, and Manchester, NH, tied for the country’s hottest market, according to new data from Realtor.com. Manchester has been popular for over a year, partly because New Hampshire is known for low taxes and affordable property. Rochester may not benefit from incredibly low taxes, but the cost of housing speaks for itself: the median list price is $223,000, far less than the national average. “They’re equally hot, but for different reasons. Manchester properties see higher demand, but homes in Rochester spend five days less on the market,” Hannah Jones, an economic data…
