But the worst is probably over. Homebuilders sentiment rose to a five-month high in February, though still depressed. It will, however, be a while before the housing market turns around. Government data last week showedMortgage rates are rising again, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing to an average 6.32% last week from 6.12% the prior week, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac.
The median existing house price increased 1.3% from a year earlier to $359,000 in January. There were 980,000 previously owned homes on the market, up 2.1% from December and 15.3% from a year ago. At January's sales pace, it would take 2.9 months to exhaust the current inventory of existing homes up from 1.6 months a year ago. A four-to-seven-month supply is viewed as a healthy balance between supply and demand.
Properties typically remained on the market for 33 days last month, up from 26 days in December. Fifty-four percent of homes sold in January were on the market for less than a month. First-time buyers accounted for 31% of sales, up from 27% a year ago. All-cash sales made up 29% of transactions compared to 27% a year ago.
When the second derivative is moving in the right direction
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Source: WSJ - 🏆 98. / 63 Read more »