Housing Market Sees Trend Not Witnessed in Two Years

In an aerial view, homes sit on lots in a neighborhood on January 26, 2023 in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

The median home sale price increased or stayed the same in all of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. during the four weeks up to April 28, according to the latest report from Redfin. It’s the first time in nearly two years—since July 2022—that this has happened.

The metropolitan areas with the smallest price increases were Dallas, Texas (unchanged), Austin, Texas (0.3 percent), San Antonio, Texas (0.6 percent), Fort Worth, Texas (1.9 percent) and Tampa, Florida (2.2 percent). The highest price increases were reported in Anaheim, California (22.8 percent), Detroit, Michigan (14.9 percent), West Palm Beach, Florida (13.4 percent) and New Brunswick, New Jersey (12.8 percent).

At the national level, home prices have been on the rise since June 2023, currently continuing their climb. The median sale price of a home in the U.S. has risen to a record $383,188, according to Redfin, up 4.8 percent year-on-year.

As skyrocketing prices and high mortgage rates squeezed many aspiring buyers out of the market, cooling down demand, the U.S. housing market experienced a price correction between late summer 2022 and spring 2023. Despite still high mortgage rates, the historic supply shortage plaguing the U.S. housing market started bringing prices back up in summer 2023.

According to Redfin, there were fewer new listings last month than any year on record, with the exceptions of 2020 and 2023. New listings were up 15 percent year-on-year in April, right as the homebuying season is heating up.

Mortgage rates have also continued climbing, despite the fact the inflation has slowed down and is now much lower than the peak reached in 2022. The weekly average hit its highest level in five months, Redfin reported, with the median monthly housing payment reaching $2,890, up 15 percent compared to a year earlier.

At their meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged, suggesting that mortgage rates won’t decline any time as soon as homebuyers might be wishing for.

“The Fed meeting is unlikely to push mortgage rates down—but the good news is that it won’t push them up, either, which could have happened if the Fed took 2024 rate cuts off the table,” said Redfin economic research lead Chen Zhao in a press release.

“Even though housing costs shouldn’t climb much more, they will remain elevated for the foreseeable future, which could push more buyers away. But for serious house hunters who can afford today’s mortgage rates and find a home they love, jumping on it now isn’t a bad idea, given the fact that inventory is low and costs aren’t dropping anytime soon.”

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