The monthly cost of buying a home rose for the first time since October as mortgage interest rates rose to the highest level in six months due to the Iran war.
Mortgage interest rates rose to the highest level in six months due to the Iran war, and the monthly cost of buying a home rose for the first time since October.
The weekly average 30-year fixed rate for the week ended March 26 hit 6.38%, up from a four-year low of 5.99% just a month ago, Freddie Mac said. The daily interest rate rose to 6.64% as of the end of last week. Redfin reported Thursday that the median monthly mortgage payment for the four weeks ending March 29 hit $2,742, an increase of 0.3% from a year ago.
Credit: Redfin
Sale prices do not solve the situation. The median sales price for the four weeks ending March 29 rose 2.1% year over year to $391,475, the largest increase in a year, according to Redfin. The median asking price rose 2.5% to $424,975.
I’m looking for a buyer, but I’m not moving.
Searches for “homes for sale” on Google are up 20% year over year. Tour activity is up 25% year-to-date. Despite this, pending sales were down 1.2% year over year. Mortgage purchase applications fell 3% in one week. Homes are on the market for a median of 53 days before going under contract, which is five days longer than a year ago.
Inventory trends
According to Redfin, the number of active listings now stands at 1,068,411 nationwide. The supply is 4.5 months, which is considered the balanced area of the market. There were also 630,000 more sellers than buyers, the largest gap on record since 2013. The number of new listings increased by 1.7% compared to the previous year.
Just 23.2% of homes sold for above list price in the four weeks ending March 29, down from 25% a year ago. The average sales-to-listing ratio decreased from 98.5 percent to 98.4 percent.
Redfin Premier agent Hazel Shakur, who works in the Washington, D.C., area, said in a company report that the current environment demands that listings leave an immediate impression.
“When a house hunter walks through the door, it has to look good, smell good, and give the impression that every room is tidy,” says Shakur. “Buyers need to be able to imagine what it will be like to live in the home.”
He added that some buyers try to walk away when problems surface during inspections, and sellers who don’t address basic maintenance are at real risk.
The situation on the ground is more complex
Pending sales jumped 25% year over year in San Francisco and 22.8% in West Palm Beach, Florida, in the four weeks ending March 29. In Milwaukee, it increased by 12.4%. Austin, Texas, rose 10%. Miami rose 8.5%.
New Brunswick, N.J., saw a 15.8% decline in pending sales. in Providence, Rhode Island, 15.6 percent; In New York, it was 15.1 percent. Houston fell 14.4%.
When it comes to prices, San Francisco saw a 12.6% year-over-year increase. Detroit rose 10.1%. Cincinnati and Milwaukee both rose 8.7%. Auckland fell 4.1%. Dallas fell 3.4%. Austin was down 2% despite improved pending sales.
Email Jesse Healy
