Rising inventory has been a continued trend but over the past two weeks, we’ve started to see a shift in those numbers. This time of year, inventory typically declines but in early September when mortgage rates rose over 6%, inventory started climbing. This decrease is a sign of relief, but will it continue to decline or increase again?
There are currently 571,515 single-family homes on the market, which is down less than 1% from last week. There are fewer homes hitting the market this time of year than usual and with the holidays around the corner, we can assume inventory won’t grow again until 2023, reports Altos Research. Watch the full video here.
Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year FRM average rose to 7.08% from 6.96% the week prior – which is a return to the 20-year high that was reached a couple of weeks ago when rates rose over 7%. To put things into perspective, rates were 2.98% one year ago.
Two weeks ago, the Fed raised rates by another 0.75 percentage points as part of its inflation-fighting strategy. More increases are likely coming, but there is some hope that the Fed will scale back as more evidence comes in that prices have peaked.
The Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell did suggest the Fed may decide to slow its aggressive interest rate increases in the coming months, but he also made clear that the Fed isn’t close to declaring victory in its fight against inflation.
The inflation rate in Tampa is growing faster than it is in many major U.S. cities. Alongside Tampa are Miami, Atlanta, and Phoenix. All four cities saw double-digit inflation and ranked near the top of the list of most popular destinations for relocating homebuyers. Read the full article here.
In Fannie Mae’s most recent report, home purchase sentiment fell for the 8th month in a row from September to October with a record low of 16% of those surveyed saying it’s a good time to buy. In their most recent forecast, Fannie Mae economists said they expect national home prices to decline by 1.5% in 2023, with home sales predicted to fall by 21% as Federal Reserve policymakers continue to struggle to get inflation under control.
“As continued affordability constraints reduce homebuyer demand, and homeowners become reluctant to sell at potentially reduced prices, we expect home sales to slow even further in the coming months, consistent with our forecast,” Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan said of the survey results.
In other news, and following Zillow’s announcement in October, Redfin has announced they have shut down its iBuyer program and let go of 13% of its workforce. “We’re closing our iBuying business, RedfinNow, because maintaining a profit with rising interest rates would make our offers on homes insultingly low,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.
Finally, join GTR for the Tampa Bay Water Webinar on Monday, November 21st at 10 a.m. to learn about our area’s long-term master water plan, current and future drinking water sources, and conservation efforts. Register today.
