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| Economy |
| Existing home sales fall to lowest level since 2010 thanks to high mortgage rates |
| 2023-11-22 |
| [Washington Examiner] Existing home sales once again slowed in October, falling to their lowest level in more than a decade amid higher mortgage rates. Home sales in October slowed 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.79 million, the National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday, as higher mortgage rates priced out many would-be buyers and led many homeowners to avoid selling and having to reenter the home loan market. The pace of home sales was down 14.6% from the year before. Total housing inventory at the end of October was 1.15 million units, up 1.8% from September but down 5.7% from a year ago. The median price of an existing home in October was $391,800, an increase of 3.4% from the year before. Additionally, homes typically remained on the market for 23 days in October, up from 21 days in September. "Prospective home buyers experienced another difficult month due to the persistent lack of housing inventory and the highest mortgage rates in a generation," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. The news comes as mortgage rates remain at levels not seen in more than two decades. As of Thursday, the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 7.38%, according to Mortgage News Daily, which tracks daily changes in rates. That is down from a recent peak of above 8%, but that is far higher than in the years prior to the pandemic and nearly double the lows notched during the pandemic. Mortgage rates have risen in the wake of the Federal Reserve's campaign to tighten monetary policy. The Fed has raised its target rate, which applies to a short-term market separate from the mortgage market, to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%. The revisions have sent shock waves through the housing market and affected the sale of new homes. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #6 Like Skid, I remember buying my present house at a time of high mortgage rates. But, guess what, I've refinanced a few times. Currently my rate is about 3%. The high mortgage rates of the present may remain high but the likelihood is that they will go down again. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2023-11-22 20:41 |
| #5 Skid, same time I did the same thing. Best economic analysis of my life. Figured that the price wouldn't go up but I could re-finance and lower my outlay. 3 yrs later sold my $45000 Cape for $112000. Worked out okay. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2023-11-22 10:37 |
| #4 Collateral damage of the high rates is that people can't move because their they owe more than their houses are worth. Unlikely that there are any transferable low fixed-rate mortgages anymore - those would allow liquidity in home markets. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2023-11-22 10:21 |
| #3 High mortgage rates? I bought my first house in 1982 at 15%. Put the $5000 down payment on my Visa at 21%. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-11-22 07:59 |
| #2 Maybe build smaller homes? Magically, my parents were able to prosper and raise two kids in a 3 bedroom, one bath home. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2023-11-22 07:32 |
| #1 The current economy reminds me of JB's owner & controller Obama. The values go up, but you can't sell it. The Interest rates go up. The Local, State & Fed Gov. taxes go up. Insurance costs go up. Service and Repairs costs go up. Everything goes up except your Net Income. Seriously those of us on SSA & retirement incomes might as well start lining up at the Food Banks. Which means Generation ?? living at home will need to get a job to help out. But wait we have about 8 million Illegals holding US Jobs now? |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2023-11-22 05:07 |
