Market Report from NAR

Market report from National Association of Realtors (NAR)

I had just gotten done writing my month-in-review when I got the attached article from NAR, and it just mirrored what I have been saying so I thought I would share some snippets from it and the article itself. Please read the full article for context and credits.  

• The share of listings with price cuts in September reached 20.8%
• This marks the highest September price-reduction rate since 2018 and the highest overall for any month since October 2022
• Simply put, mortgage rates topping 7% push would be buyers to the sidelines, leaving homes to pile up on the market, motivated sellers are willing to capitulate on price just to get to the closing table
• The rate environment and underlying geopolitical uncertainty made sure the housing market’s fall stall came early this year
• Roughly speaking, a 1-percentage-point increase in mortgage rates can reduce a buyer’s purchasing power by around 10%
• Sellers who priced their homes based on where the market was a year or two ago, are increasingly being forced to confront where the market actually is today, and where it's going tomorrow
• It’s not just the price of the house. Insurance costs have become outrageous, while gas, energy, and grocery prices are putting enormous pressure on household budgets just to cover basic necessities 
• There are two very different groups of sellers in today’s market - sellers who need to sell are adjusting their price, offering concessions, and doing what they need to do to compete. Sellers who don’t have to sell are much more likely to pull the home off the market rather than accept a lower price or terms they aren’t comfortable with.
• Pending sales and inventory growth have been diverging for a few months now, a sign of stagnation that will be worth following in October

Read full article here: Market Report from National Association of Realtors