Pending Home Sales Are Back Up
Pending home sales in the U.S. are back up, posting the highest gain since 2021. According to housing market platform Redfin, pending home sales rose 2% in the four weeks ending Oct. 6, marking the largest increase in three years. Additionally, mortgage-purchase applications increased by 8% month-over-month, and new listings are up 5.7% year-over-year.
The improvement in sales may slow in the coming weeks, as mortgage rates started rising last Friday after a surprisingly strong jobs report. Daily average mortgage rates jumped to 6.62% on Monday from 6.26% last Thursday. We expect some buyers may back off due to rising rates, but not all of them: Mortgage rates are still significantly lower than they were a year ago–and lower than earlier this year–and the Fed is on track to continue cutting interest rates.
Related
