Pending home sales continue to trend downward

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“The vast majority of homeowners are enjoying huge wealth gains and are not under financial stress with their home as a result of having locked into historically low-interest rates or because they are not carrying a mortgage,” he added.

“However – in this present market – potential homebuyers are challenged and thus may attempt to mitigate the rising cost of ownership by opting for a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage or widening their geographic search area to more affordable regions.”

More remote work opportunities, according to Yun, have allowed prospective buyers to expand their home search. He also offered scenarios in which the market soon improves for buyers:

“If mortgage rates stabilize roughly at the current level of 5.3% and job gains continue, home sales could also stabilize in the coming months,” Yun said. “Home sales in 2022 are expected to be down about 9%, and if mortgage rates climb to 6%, then the sales activity could fall by 15%.