• Single Family Closed Sales were down 16.0 percent to 7,804. 
• Townhouse-Condo Closed Sales were down 14.3 percent to 2,436.
• Adult Communities Closed Sales were down 12.1 percent to 680.
• Single Family Median Sales Price increased 12.1 percent to $510,000.
• Townhouse-Condo Median Sales Price increased 12.7 percent to $355,000.
• Adult Communities Median Sales Price increased 8.6 percent to $315,000.
In Q1 2007 the median price of a single-family house was $577,000. Today it is $510,000.
Rising inflation, soaring home prices, and increased mortgage interest rates have
combined to cause a slowdown in the U.S. housing market. To help quell inflation,
which reached 8.6% as of last measure in May, the Federal Reserve raised
interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point in June, the largest interest
rate hike since 1994. Higher prices, coupled with 30-year fixed mortgage rates
approaching 6%, have exacerbated affordability challenges and rapidly cooled
demand, with home sales and mortgage applications falling sharply from a year ago.
With monthly mortgage payments up more than 50% compared to this time last
year, the rising costs of homeownership have sidelined many prospective buyers.
Nationally, the median sales price of existing homes recently exceeded $400,000
for the first time ever, a 15% increase from the same period a year ago, according
to the National Association of REALTORS®. As existing home sales continue to
soften nationwide, housing supply is slowly improving, with inventory up for the
second straight month. In time, price growth is expected to moderate as supply
grows; for now, however, inventory remains low, and buyers are feeling the
squeeze of higher prices all around.