WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. home sales have fallen to their lowest level since October 2010 amid rising mortgage rates and high prices.
Home sales fell by 2.0 percent in September compared to the previous month to an annual rate of 3.96 million, as the real estate brokers association NAR announced on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had even expected a decline to 3.89 million. “Limited inventory and low housing affordability continue to limit home sales,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “In addition, higher mortgage interest rates in particular are slowing sales.”
Americans’ demand for construction loans also recently fell to its lowest level in almost three decades. In addition, the price of existing houses in September increased by an average of 2.8 percent compared to the same month last year to $394,300. Never before has a higher value been measured in September. Homes spent an average of 21 days on the market in September. A year earlier the average was 19 days.
As interest rates have risen in the USA, mortgage costs have also risen sharply. The central bank wants to curb strong inflation and has increased interest rates sharply since the beginning of 2022. Several monetary authorities recently signaled a continuation of the interest rate break introduced in September with a view to the upcoming interest rate decision on November 1st.
(Report by Lucia Mutikani, written by Nette Nöstlinger, edited by Reinhard Becker. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected])