Home Sales Are Slowing, but Prices Continue to Rise

The residential real estate market saw falling sales activity in November after months of similar declines, but despite growing hesitancy among would-be buyers, home prices are remaining resilient, according to the National Association of Realtors. Despite averaging 6.31%, up from 3.12% a year earlier, mortgage rates have fallen for five straight weeks, but the median existing-home sales price continues to rise, jumping 3.5% year-over-year to $370,700 in November.

As prices reach new highs, buyers are taking a slower approach to home purchases. Existing-home sales fell 7% on a monthly basis in November and were down 35.4% year-over-year.

“In essence, the residential real estate market was frozen in November, resembling the sales activity seen during the COVID-19 economic lockdowns in 2020,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “The principal factor was the rapid increase in mortgage rates, which hurt housing affordability and reduced incentives for homeowners to list their homes. Plus, available housing inventory remains near historic lows.”

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