Summer home sales are struggling due to increased buyer pessimism about the economy and job prospects. For three consecutive weeks, price growth has remained stable, indicating homes are taking longer to sell. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index reflects rising fears of unemployment, impacting buyer confidence. Despite a slight increase in new listings, overall inventory is climbing slowly. The median home price increased only slightly, but homes are sitting unsold for longer periods, indicating a sluggish market pace.
The cooling of the market is driven by a combination of rising mortgage rates and Americans' increasingly bleak outlook. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index dropped back below 70 in June after edging up in May, fueled by a dramatic rise in job loss fears and continued wariness about the future trajectory of mortgage rates.
When consumers do not feel confident about their financial future, they are far less inclined to take on a major expense like a home purchase, and the growing concerns of a tariff-induced recession are having a significant impact on the outlook of the housing market.
The median listing price once again inched up 0.2% on an annual basis for the third week in a row-but was still down 0.3% year to date. Homes waited six days longer to sell than a year ago, signaling an increasingly sluggish market pace.
Fresh listings-the measure of homeowners putting properties up for sale-rose last week by 1.3% compared to a year ago, while the June Housing Report showed that new listings declined.
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