Home prices

The pace of growth is more than double the recent historical average, adding further affordability hurdles for some homeowners.

The sales pace is now at the low end of the range seen over the past year, suggesting limited momentum amid a lack of affordability.

A national measure of prices rose 6.3% from a year earlier, less than the 6.5% gain in March, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell for a third straight month in May while prices set another record, underscoring persistent affordability challenges that hobbled the important spring selling season.

While not-in-my-backyard activists have long fought new developments, local officials and business groups across the South say they've seen a heightened level of anger since the pandemic-era growth.

Home inventory on the market increased in May, but stubbornly high mortgage rates and home prices are leading to slow sales in many areas, according to reports from Redfin and Zillow.

Despite the surge of inventory, the number of available homes is still below pre-pandemic levels, while price movements show wide regional variations, ICE Mortgage Technology said.

An index of contract signings from the National Association of Realtors dropped 7.7% to 72.3, the lowest reading since the early months of the pandemic.

Prices in a measure of 20 cities increased 7.4% from a year earlier, larger than the 7.3% annual gain in February, an S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index shows.

Contract closings decreased 1.9% from a month ago to a 4.14 million annualized rate, according to National Association of Realtors data released Wednesday.

Compared to a year ago, investors bought a greater number of properties and made up a larger share of overall purchases, returning to the market faster than individual buyers, according to Redfin.

A loan that combines features of buy-before-you-sell offerings and home equity solutions might be the type of financing needed for buyers to compete in current and future housing markets, Calque's founder says.

Out of the 221 metro areas tracked, 205 had existing home price increases and just 15 reported year-over-year declines, the National Association of Realtors said.

Price growth is decelerating but still driving historic home equity gains for owners and widening the gap between the haves and have-nots in housing, ICE finds.

Prices nationally climbed 6.4% from a year earlier, an S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index shows. That's larger than the 6% annual gain in January. 

A majority of consumers earning more than $100,000 annually said they were concerned about their own ability to purchase a home, demonstrating how affordability issues are impacting those at many socioeconomic levels, the University of Michigan study found.

Affordability challenges also have some aspiring homeowners taking second jobs or looking to draw from retirement savings, according to Redfin.

Changes resulting from a recent case settled by the National Association of Realtors could encourage sellers to negotiate lower commissions. But the industry is rife with speculation that agents will find ways to discuss commission splits through other methods.

In an address on Tuesday, economic advisor Lael Brainard also discussed the controversy surrounding the president's proposed title waiver program.

Regardless of the effect housing prices have on ballot decisions, almost two-thirds of respondents indicate that current economic trends left them feeling negative about the economy, Redfin said.