The median monthly U.S. mortgage payment fell to $2,777 in the four weeks ended November 1, a five-week low, as easing home prices and interest rates offered buyers slight relief, according to real estate brokerage Redfin. The payment, calculated at a 7.24% mortgage rate, is down from a peak of $2,811 in early October — though it remains 11.1% higher than a year earlier.
Mortgage Rates and Home Prices Fall in Latest Readings
Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 7.18% this week. At $388,604, the median sale price was down 0.4% year over year, marking the third consecutive weekly drop following three years of gains. In the four weeks ended October 25, prices were down 0.1%. Monthly gauges still show growth, however, with the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index up 2.1% from a year earlier in August.
Pending Sales Hit Record Low
Pending sales dropped to 275,484, a decline of 0.6% week over week and 16.4% from a year earlier — the weakest reading in Redfin’s data, which dates back to 2021. Contracts declined in all 50 of the most populous U.S. metro areas for the fourth week, led by Seattle (down 30.5%), San Diego (26.9%) and Atlanta (26.3%).
New listings fell 1.5% week over week and 4.6% year over year to 346,795, the lowest level since January, as would-be sellers reacted to slow demand. Active listings rose 2.1% from a year earlier to 1.5 million, and supply climbed to 4.6 months from 4 months.
Buyers Gain Bargaining Power
Redfin said there are still significantly more sellers than buyers, giving buyers room to negotiate prices and concessions. Price cuts now apply to 21.2% of listings, up from 20.6% a year earlier; the typical home sat on the market for 50 days, one day more than last year; and the portion going off the market within two weeks slipped to 26.9% from 28%. The median asking price rose 2% to $401,860.
Of the 50 biggest metro areas, San Francisco (17.3%), New Brunswick, New Jersey (7.6%) and Pittsburgh (7%) posted the largest sale-price gains, while Fort Lauderdale, Florida (5.9%), Austin, Texas (5.8%) and Seattle (5.1%) saw the biggest declines.
