Sales of new homes in July were up more than 31% from a year ago. More than a third of homes sold for more than their asking price last month. In fact, the average existing home sold in July cost nearly $407,000 - an increase of 1.9% from a year ago. Bidding wars are still commonįewer existing homes are changing hands these days, but surprisingly, there has been little or no break on prices, and buyers who are in the market are still willing to pay up. Indeed, about 15% fewer existing homes were on the market in July than a year ago.
That's not great news for people who want to buy. "They don't want to give up their 3% mortgage, especially if they have to swap it out for a 7% mortgage.
"Many American homeowners just aren't going to move anywhere for a while," says Bankrate analyst Jeff Ostrowski.
"For first-time homebuyers, if they were looking and just kind of waiting this same time last year, they're probably kicking themselves saying, 'I should have bought.'" Many sellers are sidelined as wellĪnyone who bought or refinanced a home in recent years likely has a mortgage with a significantly lower interest rate, so selling would be a costly proposition. "Because of the interest rate, we have a lot of buyers who are sitting on the sidelines," says Cathy Trevino, chair of the Houston Association of Realtors.
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