{"id":4863,"date":"2024-03-15T11:12:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T11:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/15\/mortgage-rates-just-dropped-and-so-have-home-prices-is-this-the-start-of-a-sustainable-trend\/"},"modified":"2024-03-15T11:12:16","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T11:12:16","slug":"mortgage-rates-just-dropped-and-so-have-home-prices-is-this-the-start-of-a-sustainable-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/15\/mortgage-rates-just-dropped-and-so-have-home-prices-is-this-the-start-of-a-sustainable-trend\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage Rates Just Dropped\u2014and So Have Home Prices. Is This the Start of a \u2018Sustainable Trend\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Getty Images<\/p>\n

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The unpredictable mortgage rate ride continued this week\u2014and landed in a positive place.<\/p>\n

The average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan ticked down from 6.88% to\u00a06.74% for the week ending March 14, according to Freddie Mac.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased again this week, with declines totaling almost a quarter of a percent in two weeks\u2019 time,\u201d Sam Khater<\/strong>, Freddie Mac\u2019s chief economist, said in a statement. \u201cDespite the recent dip, mortgage rates remain high as the market contends with the pressure of sticky inflation. In this environment, there is a good possibility that rates will stay higher for a longer period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homebuyers entering the spring housing market will also be buoyed by another data point: Home price growth sank below 0%\u2014to -0.6%\u2014for the week ending March 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the key question is whether this decline is a one-time spark or the beginning of a sustainable trend,\u201d says\u00a0Realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>\u00a0economist\u00a0Jiayi Xu<\/strong>\u00a0in her\u00a0analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With less than a week left before spring officially starts, how will the latest housing statistics affect the real estate market as it heats up? We\u2019ll explore what the latest data means for homebuyers and sellers in this installment of \u201cHow\u2019s the Housing Market This Week<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest housing statistics<\/p>\n

Realtor.com<\/p>\n

Mortgage rates\u2019 unpredictable trajectory<\/h2>\n

Earlier in the year, mortgage rates were in the mid-6% range. But now that rates are higher, some home shoppers may opt out of the real estate market until rates fall to a friendlier number\u2014though they may be waiting a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe uptick in February\u2019s consumer price index<\/a>\u00a0suggests that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to implement rate cuts in the near future, indicating that mortgage rates may persist at elevated levels for an extended period,\u201d explains Xu.<\/p>\n

Home price growth finally sinks \u2018below zero\u2019<\/h2>\n

When mortgage rates rise, the housing market stagnates: Fewer buyers in turn force sellers to adjust how much they can ask for a property.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnnual listing price growth has floated lower since early 2024, and it dropped below zero this week,\u201d Xu adds. \u201cIt marks the first week of year-over-year price declines since July 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the price of a median home was $415,500<\/a> in February, Xu says the fall in price growth seen for the week ending March 9 is an \u201cencouraging sign to home shoppers, given the ongoing affordability challenges in the housing market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Budget-minded homebuyers should also take note of a welcome uptick in homes that cost between $200,000 and $350,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The ongoing surge in inventory<\/h2>\n

Another bright spot? According to Realtor.com February housing data<\/a>, 2024 has seen the highest level of homes for sale since 2020. Indeed, listing pages have grown for 18 consecutive weeks compared with the same time last year.<\/p>\n

For the week ending March 9, total active inventory grew, with the number of homes for sale rising 21.7% above year-ago levels. Yet the real boon for buyers is the surge of new-to-market listings, up by 15.8% for the same time frame.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA jump in new listings means fresh options\u2014crucial for buyers shopping with a specific must-have list,\u201d says Xu. \u201cNevertheless, the number of homes on the market is still down nearly 40% compared to what was typical in 2017 to 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homes are selling quickly<\/h2>\n

Homebuyers who can meet the current mortgage challenges and take advantage of the new pool of lower-priced homes are not wasting any time making an offer before the spring market heats up.<\/p>\n

The typical home spent two fewer days on the market for the week ending March 9 compared with the same week one year prior. (Homes spent an average of 61 days on the market in February.)<\/p>\n

\u201cMore home options mean more buyers are finding what they are looking for amid scarce inventory, so homes continue to move relatively quickly,\u201d explains Xu.<\/p>\n

The post Mortgage Rates Just Dropped\u2014and So Have Home Prices. Is This the Start of a \u2018Sustainable Trend\u2019?<\/a> appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getty Images The unpredictable mortgage rate ride continued this week\u2014and landed in a positive place. The average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan ticked down from 6.88% to\u00a06.74% for the week ending March 14, according to Freddie Mac. \u201cThe 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased again this week, with declines totaling almost a quarter of a…Read More→<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}