For the first time since October, the monthly cost of buying a home increased, a consequence of the war in Iran driving mortgage rates to a six-month high.
The weekly average 30-year fixed rate hit 6.38 percent for the week ending March 26, up from a four-year low of 5.99 percent just one month earlier, according to Freddie Mac. Daily rates spiked as high as 6.64 percent at the end of last week. The median monthly mortgage payment reached $2,742 during the four weeks ending March 29, a 0.3 percent year-over-year increase, Redfin reported Thursday.
Credit: Redfin
Sale prices aren’t helping the situation. According to Redfin, the median sale price rose 2.1 percent year over year to $391,475 during the four weeks ending March 29 — the biggest price increase in a year. The median asking price climbed 2.5 percent to $424,975.
Buyers are looking, but they aren’t moving
Google searches for “homes for sale” are up 20 percent year over year. Touring activity is up 25 percent from the start of the year. And yet pending sales dropped 1.2 percent year over year. Mortgage purchase applications fell 3 percent in a single week. Homes are sitting on the market for a median of 53 days before going under contract, five days longer than a year ago.
The inventory shift
Active listings currently stand at 1,068,411 nationally, according to Redfin. Supply sits at 4.5 months, which is considered balanced-market territory. And there are 630,000 more sellers than buyers, the widest gap in records dating back to 2013. New listings rose 1.7 percent year over year.
Only 23.2 percent of homes sold above list price during the four weeks ending March 29, down from 25 percent a year ago. The average sale-to-list ratio slipped to 98.4 percent from 98.5 percent.
Redfin Premier agent Hazel Shakur — who works in the Washington, D.C., area — said in her company’s report that the current environment demands that listings make an immediate impression.
“When house hunters walk through the door, it should look good, smell good and give the impression that every room is orderly,” Shakur said. “Buyers should be able to visualize what life is going to be like living in the home.”
She added that some buyers are walking away when issues surface during inspections, putting sellers who haven’t addressed basic maintenance at real risk.
The local picture is more complicated
Pending sales surged 25 percent year over year in San Francisco and 22.8 percent in West Palm Beach, Florida, during the four weeks ending March 29. Milwaukee posted a 12.4 percent gain; Austin, Texas, climbed 10 percent; and Miami rose 8.5 percent.
Pending sales fell 15.8 percent in New Brunswick, New Jersey; 15.6 percent in Providence, Rhode Island; and 15.1 percent in New York. Houston dropped 14.4 percent.
On price, San Francisco posted a 12.6 percent year-over-year increase; Detroit climbed 10.1 percent; Cincinnati and Milwaukee both rose 8.7 percent; Oakland fell 4.1 percent; and Dallas dropped 3.4 percent. Austin declined 2 percent — even as its pending sales improved.
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