The typical U.S. homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment was $2,605 during the four weeks ending July 30, up 19 percent from a year earlier and down just $32 from early July’s all-time high, according to a new report from Redfin.
Housing payments remain historically high because mortgage rates remain elevated, with weekly average rates clocking in at 6.9 percent this week, and home prices are on the rise.
Redfin added the median home-sale price is up 3.2 percent year-over-year, the biggest increase since November.
Home prices are increasing because of the mismatch between supply and demand. High mortgage rates have pushed many would-be sellers out of the market, with homeowners hanging onto their relatively low rates. The total number of homes for sale is down 19 percent, the biggest drop in a year and a half, and new listings are down 21 percent, according to Redfin.
High rates are also sidelining prospective buyers, but not as much as they’re deterring would-be sellers. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, which measures early-stage demand through requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents, is down just 4 percent from a year ago.
Leading indicators of homebuying activity:
• For the week ending Aug. 3, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.9 percent, slightly higher than a week earlier but slightly lower than the half-year high hit three weeks earlier. The daily average was 7.2 percent on Aug. 3.
• Mortgage-purchase applications during the week ending July 28 declined 3 percent from a week earlier, seasonally adjusted. Purchase applications were down 26 percent from a year earlier.
• The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index was down 4 percent from a month earlier, and down 4 percent from a year earlier.
• Google searches for “homes for sale” were up essentially flat from a month earlier during the week ending July 29, and down about 16 percent from a year earlier.
• Touring activity as of July 28 was up 8 percent from the start of the year, compared with a 5 percent decrease at the same time last year, according to home tour technology company ShowingTime.