Mortgage News April 1, 2023
The RE/MAX National Housing Report for February 2023 shows that even though home sales were 24.4% lower than the previous year, there was a 16.8% increase in sales from January. This marked the largest monthly surge in 11 months and halted a five-month trend of decreasing sales since September.
Following a continuous decline in prices since June 2022, the median sales price of homes rose to $385,000 in February, marking a 0.6% increase from January. This increase ended a seven-month streak of declining prices. However, the median price was 1.3% lower than the previous year’s figures of $390,000, indicating the first year-over-year drop since January 2012.
For the 10th month in a row, there was a year-over-year increase in inventory, with the number of available homes for sale in the 50 metro areas mentioned in the report being 55.0% higher than the previous year’s figures.
According to Nick Bailey, who is the President and CEO of RE/MAX, while prices have stabilized and the demand for homes is high, the shortage of affordable housing options remains a significant obstacle. He also noted that mortgage rates are a crucial consideration for many buyers, and any increase or decrease in rates could impact sales activity, which will be worth monitoring as we enter the spring season.
The Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Equity Group in Beaverton, OR, Laurie Thiel, has observed an increase in demand and activity in her area. According to her, the market has stabilized, and agents are witnessing a surge in activity from buyers and sellers. However, despite this increase, the time it takes to sell a home has gone up, and there is still a scarcity of available homes in the Portland metropolitan market.
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