Is the housing market really cooling off?
The latest weekly housing market report from Altos Research is out, and the data shows price cuts continuing to increase as inventory also grows.
Total home inventory for sale was at 653,000 units last week. That’s up about 1% week-over-week, but up 40% year-over-year. Available home inventory is at its highest level since early 2020.
When it comes to new listings, the market picked up 71,000 freshly listed homes this past week. That’s about 8,000 more new listings added to the market than at the same time last year. This indicates that sellers are starting to move off the sidelines and get back into the market.
The median price of new contracts was at $395,000 last week. This is virtually unchanged from last week, but still off the peak we saw in May. However, we’re still about $15,000 higher than the same time period last year.
The big news from this week’s data is that 38.0% of available homes have seen a price cut. That’s up a few points from last week and above the ‘healthy market level’ of 35.0%. What’s interesting here is that the pace of price cuts is exceeding last year. This is also more homes seeing price cuts than in any July in the last decade.
Where did mortgage rates start the week?
The national average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage ended Monday’s session down 0.02% to 7.01%*. Market watchers observed light trading that appeared to lack real direction. The sentiment was that this was a ‘typical summer Monday’.
The market should get more direction with two days of Chairman Powell testifying in front of Congress, and CPI data on Thursday.
What are states doing about property taxes?
Home prices have soared over the past few years, and with the increase in value comes increases in taxes. Alabama, Wyoming, and Kansas have already enacted laws to limit property tax hikes. Georgia and Colorado have similar measures on the ballot this November. Other states are looking into carve outs and exemptions to help ease the tax burden.
Realtor.com did a deep dive into the current situation and what states are doing to solve it.
Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist, stated, “All of these proposals are really about what’s the desired level of overall taxation and who has to pay it. Homeowners should remember, and many do remember, that you’re paying property taxes to fund local services, including things like schools, libraries, parks, and local facilities that can make a community a great place to live.”
By the end of 2024, eight states will have either enacted new legislation to limit property taxes, or had a certified ballot measure voted on. States to watch in the upcoming elections include Georgia, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
* National average rates accurate as of 7/8/24 from and are not advertised rates from Guaranteed Rate.
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