Expect That By The Time Mortgage Rates Increase To 3.6%, Competition Will Settle Down Quickly To Levels Similar To Late-2018
The median home sale price surged 16% year over year during the week ending January 9 to an all-time high of $365,000. Prices keep climbing because the supply drought keeps deepening while demand increases. The number of homes for sale fell to a new low as listings hit the market at a slower rate than they did early last year. Yet homebuyer activity–as measured by the Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index–jumped 9%. Mortgage rates rose to 3.45% during the seven days ending January 13, making homebuying more expensive as overall inflation hit a 40-year high.