Home sales fell 2% from August to September, and were down 15.4% from a year earlier as prices and interest rates rose.
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Existing home sales fell in September as mortgage rates continued to rise to a 20-year high.
According to the report, home sales fell 2% from August to September, a 15.4% year-on-year decline. The data was released on Thursday According to the National Association of Realtors. His seasonally adjusted annual sales were 3.96 million yen.
“As has been the case throughout this year, limited inventory and low home prices continue to hinder home sales,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “Given slowing inflation and slowing job growth, the Fed simply cannot continue raising rates.”
According to , the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.57% as of October 12th. freddie mac, This is up from 7.49% the previous week and 6.92% a year ago.
According to NAR, the total number of registered housing inventories at the end of September was 1.13 million units, up from 2.7% in August but down 8.1% from a year ago. Rapid increases in mortgage rates create a “lock-in” effect, where prospective home sellers become reluctant to list their homes and lose out on lower mortgage rates, resulting in a severe shortage of homes for sale. ing.
“While home sales slowed to the slowest pace in more than a decade, existing home prices were still nearly 3% higher in September compared to the same month last year. Prices don’t typically rise at the same time as sales decline.” said Holden Lewis, home and mortgage expert at NerdWallet. “That’s happening right now because there’s a lack of homes for sale.”
The median existing home price for all home types in September was $394,300, up 2.8% from the same month last year, according to NAR.
Home sales in the Northeast increased by 4.2% in September, but were down 16.7% from the same month last year. Sales in the Midwest were down 4.1% from the previous month and 18.4% from the previous year. In the south, sales were down 1.1% from August and 11.7% from the previous year, while in the west, sales of existing homes were down 5.3% from the previous month and 19.3% from the previous year.
“The Northeast recorded the largest price increase due to a 20% decline in inventory as well as increased demand,” Yun said. “Price growth has slowed in the Western world, particularly in the Rocky Mountain region, reflecting a respite from years of unsustainable and rapid price increases.”
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