Of the 50 top-performing metropolitan areas in the country, every one saw their median home-sale price stay steady or rise year-over-year in April 2024, the first time this has happened since July 2022.
This information comes to us by way of a new report from Redfin, which pegged the national median home sale price to a near-record $383,188, which comes to a 4.8% increase year-over-year. This comes at the same time as a period of rising mortgage rates, which are currently sitting at five-month high driving median monthly housing payments to a record $2,890—put another way, monthly housing payments are now up 15% year-over-year.
Low inventory is driving up prices
While new listings may be up 15% year-over-year, they are still well below numbers traditionally seen in April—there were fewer new listings in April than any year on record except for after the pandemic hit in 2020 and also in 2023. The year-over-year increase is also inflated because of the Easter effect; Easter didn’t fall into the four weeks included in this year’s data, but the holiday did fall into last year’s comparable time period. Some homeowners are hesitant to list their homes because economic indicators point to interest rates staying higher for longer than expected, potentially exacerbating the mortgage-rate lock-in effect.
Homebuying demand is softening as rates rise
According to Redfin’s internal data, some Redfin agents are reporting that the recent uptick in mortgage rates is scaring buyers away, and mortgage-purchase applications declined 2% week over week. Still, there are enough buyers out there to keep prices propped up: Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents—is up 3% from a month ago, sitting near its highest level since August.
This week’s economic news keeps mortgage rates in a holding pattern. At their May 1 meeting, the Fed held interest rates steady, as expected, but kept open the possibility of rate cuts later this year. “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. “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.”
By the numbers
- Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate: 7.41%, up from 6.73% year-over-year
- Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted): down 14% year-over-year
- Median sale price: $383,188, up 4.8% year-over-year
- Median asking price: $429,450: up 7.7% year-over-year
- Median monthly mortgage payment: $2,890 @7.17%, an all-time high
- Pending sales: 88,408, down 3.4% year-over-year
- New Listings: 101,065, up 15.2% year-over-year, the biggest increase in nearly three years
- Active listings: 856,350, up 11.8% year-over-year
- Months of supply: 3.4 months, up by 0.6 months year-over-year
- Median days on market: 34, the same as last year
Click here to see the report in its entirety.
