Mortgage News April 11, 2023
The housing market in March 2023 saw an increase in the inventory of homes for sale compared to the previous year, as reported in Realtor.com’s Monthly Housing Market Trends Report. However, the growth rate in inventory slightly declined, and there were still fewer homes available to buy on a typical day in March than there were pre-pandemic.
Compared to last year, the total inventory of homes for sale, including those under contract but not yet sold, increased by 9.3%, with a slower growth rate than the previous month. Additionally, the number of homes under contract (pending listings) decreased by 24.5% compared to the same time last year, suggesting a possible stabilization of existing home sales activity.
Even though the growth in listing prices slowed and there were more price reductions, high-interest rates posed an affordability challenge for potential buyers. It is expected that mortgage rates will remain high in the near future, resulting in a considerable rise in the monthly financing cost for 80% of a typical home compared to last year.
Compared to the same period last year, the number of newly listed homes for sale decreased by 20.1%, and new listings remained substantially below pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index survey, home selling sentiment declined due to the decrease in price expectations.
In summary, while the inventory of homes for sale increased in March 2023 compared to the previous year, the growth rate slightly declined, and fewer homes were available to buy compared to pre-pandemic levels. The high-interest rates continued to create an affordability challenge for buyers, leading to a decline in the number of homes under contract and newly listed for sale.
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