The U.S. housing market has continued to cool, as rising mortgage rates and record-high sales prices have stifled affordability, weakening demand and pricing out many buyers. Nationally, median household income has failed to keep pace with increasing mortgage payments, with the costs of buying a home about 80% more expensive now than they were just three summers ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). As more and more prospective buyers find their home purchase plans delayed, many are turning to the rental market, where competition has intensified due to increased demand.
New Listings were down 44.1 percent for single-family homes and 40.8 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Pending Sales decreased 31.3 percent for single-family homes and 42.9 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop properties.
The Median Sales Price was down 9.7 percent to $1,670,000 for single-family homes and 0.8 percent to $1,200,000 for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 32.0 percent for single-family units and 17.5 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop units.
At a time of year when homebuying activity is typically robust, soaring homeownership costs have caused home sales to decline nationwide for the fifth consecutive month, with existing-home sales falling 5.4% month-to-month and 14.2% year-over-year as of the last measure, according to NAR. But there is a bright spot. Inventory of existing homes has continued to climb this summer, with 1.26 million homes available at the beginning of July, equivalent to a 3 months supply. And despite the summer slowdown, homes are still selling quickly, with the typical home staying on-market an average of 14 days.
