U.S. home-sale prices edged down and median rent growth turned positive in October, a paired shift in a housing market where borrowing costs continue to weigh on buyers.
For the four weeks through Oct. 25, Redfin's measure put the median U.S. home-sale price 0.1% below its level a year earlier. It was the first annual decline in more than three years. Apartment List's October reading showed median nationwide rent 0.1% above its year-earlier level, its first annual increase in more than three years, CNBC reported.
CNBC linked the sales slowdown to high mortgage rates and concern about the broader economy. Rates had eased somewhat in recent weeks but remained roughly one percentage point above their level a year earlier, the outlet reported. Redfin put a typical homebuyer's monthly payment at its second-highest level on record.
Pending home sales continued to decline in recent weeks, CNBC reported. The National Association of Realtors separately reported that September pending sales reached their lowest level in 25 years. The weakness extends the trend covered in EconoTimes' earlier report on pending sales falling as mortgage rates rose.
Redfin reported that newly listed homes had fallen to their lowest point this year. CNBC said rising supply and buyers stepping back had reduced sellers' ability to set the prices they wanted.
Rent conditions remained uneven. CNBC reported a 7% national multifamily vacancy rate for October, down from an earlier-year peak but still high by long-term standards. The outlet said a large supply of newly built units had pressured rents in recent years. It also reported signs of recovery in Austin, Phoenix and Tampa, while Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Antonio continued to see some of the steepest rent declines. The San Francisco Bay Area led the country in annual rent growth at 13.1%, followed by San Jose, California.
