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…
Housing affordability is a bigger deal to Americans than the possibility of a recession, according to a new survey by Personal Capital. The survey found that 1 in 4 people have decided to put off buying a home “indefinitely.” Rising mortgage interest rates were the number one concern of respondents, despite the fact that more than 75% said they expect a recession within two years. Gen Z was the generation most likely to say homebuying isn’t currently an option for them, and nearly a quarter called homeownership “unattainable.” Gen Zers overwhelmingly want to own their own homes, with 59% identifying homeownership as a sign of success. But many are worried they may never be able to afford a home if prices continue…
Affordability improved in July, with the national median payment applied for by applicants falling to $1,844 from $1,893 in June, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI) fell for a second consecutive month, down 3.8% to a reading of 157.7. 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 improvement can be attributed to lower mortgage rates and less competition as more potential buyers are priced out of the market. Rates dipped to 5.13% last week, though they are back up this week. Additionally, purchase demand has declined sharply this year. Overall loan application…
New listings fell 12% during the four-week period ending August 7, the largest YOY decline since June 2020, according to recent Redfin data. Higher mortgage rates are keeping some Americans in their homes longer than they normally would be. Some homeowners are experiencing what Redfin calls “rate lock-in,” a fear of putting their home up for sale due to a low rate they nabbed during the pandemic. Others are realizing they won’t get an offer over listing price on-demand like they could last year. “Buyers are backing off due to rising housing costs and sellers are holding back because they realize they won’t get the bidding war they would have gotten six months ago,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor…
Active listings posted a record-high growth rate in July, an indication that balance is returning to the housing market, Realtor.com reported. July’s Monthly Housing Trends Report found that the national inventory of active listings rose by 30.7% YOY, while the total inventory of unsold homes, including pending listings, increased for the first time since September 2019. This means there were 176,000 more homes actively for sale on a typical day in July than at the same time last year. However, the bump in total unsold inventory amounted to only a modest 3.5% due to a dip in pending inventory. And listings are still far behind their pre-pandemic and even early pandemic levels. Active listings were 15.7% below 2020 and 45.4%…
Home price appreciation is leveling out on a national level, but zooming in on price points and regions reveals a more complex picture, according to new data from the AEI Housing Center. The center looked at how home price appreciation is changing, first by price tier and then by specific metros and geography. While June home price appreciation dropped to nearly zero month-over-month nationally, the story is completely different when analyzing these two metrics. In the first, the Center divided home sales into four price tiers based on their access to leverage. Doing so revealed that appreciation is slowing across all tiers, especially when it comes to the highest level. High-price tier homes were the first to show a negative…
California and Florida metros collectively account for 80% of the top 10 highest average rents across the country, forcing Americans to look to the middle of the country for affordable rentals. That’s according to HouseCanary’s first National Rental Report, which compares listings volumes, new listings, and median listing price information on single-family detached listings from H1 2021 and H1 2022. National rent prices saw a double-digit increase, up 13.4% YOY in the first half of 2022. At the end of H1 2022, the average rent was $2,495. Property demand remained strong, with the number of days on the market staying basically the same from last year. At the end of H1, rentals were on the market for an average of…
