High mortgage rates keep US homes unaffordable despite buyer leverage, Blend Financial says
TLT•Blend Financial says mortgage rates above 7% are constraining home purchases despite increased buyer negotiating power. Sellers outnumbered buyers by 63% in September, while housing starts fell 5.2% and pending home sales dropped 7.3%.
1. Buyer leverage grows
Sellers outnumbered buyers by 63% in September, a record gap, and nearly three in five homes sold below their original asking prices. Average 30-year mortgage rates remained above 7%, keeping financing costly.
2. Housing activity weakens
Housing starts fell 5.2% in September to an annualized 1,220,000 units, down 7.4% from a year earlier. Pending home sales dropped 7.3% to their lowest level since tracking began in 2001. The brief says high rates are also making residential construction increasingly uneconomical.
