The typical homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment rose 39% year-over-year during the four-week period ending April 24, marking the largest yearly gain on record after the average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage rose to a 12-year high of 5.1%, Redfin reports. As a result, mortgage purchase applications were down 17% year-over-year, but buyers aren’t the only ones pumping the brakes on home sales.
Active listings fell 19% year-over-year, meaning that sellers are also taking a step back from a more volatile market, but because homebuyers and sellers are retreating at an equal pace, competition for home sales remains steady.
“Rising mortgage rates are taking a bite out of pending sales as both buyers and sellers take a step back from the turbulent market,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “It seems as though the ratio of buyers to sellers remains mostly the same, which is why we have yet to see a substantial drop in bidding wars or the share of homes selling quickly. It’s still early days though when it comes to 5% mortgage rates. The number of buyers willing to pay such high mortgage payments could evaporate by late summer.”