Key takeaways
- Low levels of inventory mean that sellers continue to have the upper hand in the housing market.
- Mortgage rates have come down from their peak but are still high, and steep home prices are dissuading would-be buyers.
- If rates were to drop further, that would spur the market for both buyers and sellers.
With home prices historically high, inventory still tight and the dust still settling on commission changes enacted late this summer, many prospective sellers and hopeful buyers are feeling nervous about this winter’s housing market.
The median sale price for an existing home in the U.S. was $404,500 in September 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). And after briefly rising above 8 percent in October 2023, the average 30-year mortgage rate as of late this October was 6.88 percent — a welcome decrease but still much higher than most homeowners’ locked-in rates.
Home prices, mortgage rates, inventory levels and commissions will all shape housing affordability through the remainder…
