Rising mortgage rates are no joke to eager homebuyers.
According to Realtor.com, existing home sales rose 15.4 percent year-over-year in November, the most existing homes sold since February 2007. The rate was spurred by buyers who wanted to secure a decent mortgage before any more interest rate hikes. Rising home prices also played a factor, as the median price of an existing home moved up to $234,900 in November, a 6.8 percent year-over-year increase.
Of the 5.6 million existing homes sold in November, more than half of them were located in the South or Midwest.
The cost of owning continues to edge up, but the residences are still significantly cheaper than buying a newly built home—by about 29.6%. The median cost of a new home was $304,500 in October, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Commerce Department.
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