A new report from Realtor.com says the cost of buying a home continued to rise in September, with limited inventory driving up sale prices.
Nationally, home listing prices rose 0.4% this September, to a median of $430,000. Also, housing inventory fell 4%, for the third consecutive month, according to the real estate website’s Monthly Housing Trends Report released Thursday.
The median listing price of $430,000 marks a 37.5% jump from September 2019. Meanwhile, active listings are down 42.7% from September 2019.
Locally, the Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown metro area had a median listing price of $400,000, 7.4% higher than a year ago, along with an active listing count that dropped 17.7% year-over-year.Â
The region’s median days on the market stayed the same at 37. Eight percent of listings reduced their price in September.
Nationally, the percentage of homes with price reductions decreased year over year, from 20.2% in September 2022 to 17.8% this year.
“Buyers still struggle with the triple threat of rising listing prices, record-high mortgage rates and limited inventory, making affordability a continued concern,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com. “The number of homes for sale is likely to remain low as higher mortgage rates leave many homeowners feeling ‘locked in’ to their current rates. Data shows low inventory is pushing many homebuyers toward new homes, but the growth in new construction isn’t enough to sufficiently narrow the inventory gap.”
With mortgage rates increasing, the monthly cost of financing 80% of the typical home increased by roughly $256, or 12.4%, compared to a year ago, outpacing wage growth (+4.3%) and inflation (+3.7%), according to the report.
