New-Home Sales Dip By 2% in February as Mortgage Rates Rise
Mortgage rates have risen to a three-year high, making it tougher for borrowers to stretch to pay soaring prices for new houses.
March 23, 2022 2 MIN
Mortgage rates have risen to a three-year high, making it tougher for borrowers to stretch to pay soaring prices for new houses.
Buyers are balking at the "double whammy" of rising mortgage rates and higher prices, said NAR's Lawrence Yun.
A “lack of resale inventory continues to support housing demand despite higher interest rates,” said Robert Dietz, NAHB's chief economist.
The share of respondents who said mortgage rates will rise over the next year increased to a record high of 67%, according to a Fannie Mae report.
Homeowners with mortgages gained an average of $55,300 in equity, CoreLogic said in a report on Thursday.
The U.S.housing market likely could withstand a recession without a downturn in home prices, according to Jaret Seiberg, a housing policy analyst for Cowen Washington Research Group.
House hunters are contending with a shortage of available properties, as well as rising mortgage rates, NAR says in a report.
Sales of new houses in January retreated for the first time in three months as higher mortgage rates eroded buying power.
Demand for real estate is high as consumers try to buy homes before financing costs rise further, said NAR's Yun.
Existing home sales likely will total 6.41 million this year, the investment bank said in a note to clients, beating the projections of other housing forecasters.
