Housing inventory

Purchases completed above the asking price made up 9.3% of all transactions, the highest portion in four years.

A majority of housing experts also believe first-time homeownership should hit 2019 levels again within four years; however, a substantial number don’t expect it this decade.

A gauge of U.S. pending home sales fell unexpectedly in February for a fourth straight month as limited inventory continued to restrict a real estate market that’s now facing another challenge — rising borrowing costs.

Contract closings decreased 7.2% in February from the prior month to an annualized 6.02 million, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Friday.

The builder reported better-than-expected quarterly orders as the record shortage of existing-home listings pushed buyers toward newly built properties.

All indicators show that the renting market is heating up, as would-be buyers of houses increasingly turn to rentals because they can’t find — and can’t afford — their dream houses.

The monthly mortgage payment for homes in the median asking price range hit a new high, up 31% from before the pandemic, according to Redfin.

Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly increased to a one-year high as buyers rushed in ahead of a surge in mortgage rates, further depleting tight inventories to a record low.

New U.S. home construction fell in January for the first time in four months, indicating pandemic-related labor absences and winter weather tempered recent progress on building activity.

For first-time buyers, mortgage payments jumped to 25.6% of household incomes in the fourth quarter, the worst affordability level in three years, according to the National Association of Realtors.