As Costs Remain Elevated, Pending Home Sales Fall

Buyer demand is still weak, as the recent decline in pending home sales makes evident. According to real estate marketing platform Redfin, pending home sales fell by 3.5% in the four weeks ending July 6 compared with the same time last year. This is the second-steepest decline since early February. At the same time, the median home sale price in the U.S. reached a record high of $399,633, a 1% increase from the same time last year.

But there is some good news for sellers. Mortgage applications for home purchases jumped 9% from the previous week as average mortgage rates fell to 6.67%. Additionally, home tour activity has climbed by 25% since the beginning of the year, suggesting some buyers are coming back to the market. 

“Some homes are moving fast, others are seeing multiple price reductions,” said James Gulden, a Redfin Premier agent in Boston, Mass. “It’s not location or price-tier specific; the mixed results permeate in every corner of the market. Prices are still as high as they have ever been, but with homes sitting longer, the market is slowly turning in buyers’ favor.”