The median U.S. home-sale price increased 5 percent from a year earlier during the four weeks ending April 14, bringing it to $380,250, just $3,095 shy of June 2022’s all-time high. That’s according to a new report from Redfin.
The average daily mortgage rate surpassed 7.4 percent, the highest level since last November, after a hotter-than-expected inflation report and the Fed’s confirmation that interest-rate cuts will be delayed. The combination of high mortgage rates and prices brought homebuyers’ median monthly housing payment to a record $2,775, up 11 percent year-over-year.
“Home sales are slower than usual, but there are still people buying and selling because if not now, when?” Connie Durnal, a Redfin Premier agent in Dallas, said in a release. “I’ve had a few prospective buyers touring homes for the last several years, since mortgage rates started going up, and they wish they would have bought last year because prices and rates are even higher now. My advice to them: If you can afford to and you find a house you love, buy now. There’s no guarantee that rates will come down soon.”
There are signals that buyers are touring homes despite rising rates. Mortgage-purchase applications are up 5 percent week-over-week, and Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index is near its highest level in seven months.
Chen Zhao, Redfin's economic research lead, added that some house hunters are hoping to buy now because they’re concerned rates could rise more, and others have grown accustomed to elevated rates and pushed down their home-price budget accordingly.