New data showed mortgage rates hit their lowest since April 2023 as recession fears spread to the housing market.
The real estate company Redfin report The company said Thursday that mortgage rates hit a daily average of 6.34% earlier this week, citing recent weak employment data and resulting “recession fears” as the main driver for the decline in rates.
The median home sales price has also been trending downward, hitting $389,750 in the four weeks ending Sunday, more than $6,000 lower than last month’s all-time high, the company said.
“While this is a typical seasonal decline, the 3.2% year-on-year increase was the smallest in nine months, suggesting price growth is slowing somewhat,” the company noted.
The report said the number of properties under contract for sale was down 6.7% compared to last year, but noted there were signs of an improvement, with interest in applying for mortgages to purchase and touring homes increasing.
“Many of the buyers I work with are excited because they’ve been casually house hunting for a year and were waiting for interest rates to drop before making an offer. Now, many of those buyers want to buy now before interest rates drop too far and competition becomes fierce,” Shoshana Godwin, an agent with Redfin Premier, said in a statement.
“One of my properties that I put up for sale last week had over 100 people apply and I received nine offers to buy,” Godwin added. “While buyers are able to get lower interest rates than a few months ago, costs are still high so buyers are being picky. If they’re going to pay a higher monthly payment, they want a home that’s move-in ready so they don’t have to spend money on upgrades.”
