FILE PHOTO: That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007, the start of the housing slump of the late 2000s. Photo by Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank in 2023 to a nearly 30-year low as mortgage rates climbed to the highest level in more than two decades and prices hit record highs, pushing homeownership out of reach for many Americans.
The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.09 million last year, an 18.7% decline from 2022. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007, the start of the housing slump of the late 2000s.
The median national home price for all of last year edged up just under 1% to record high of $389,800, the NAR said.
Mortgage rates surged in 2023, climbing to a two-decade high of 7.08% by late October as the Federal Reserve continued to boost its key lending rate in a quest to cool the economy and tame inflation.
The sharply higher home loan borrowing costs limited home hunters’ buying power on top of years of soaring prices. A stubbornly low level of homes for sale also kept many would-be homebuyers and sellers on the sidelines.
Mortgage rates have been mostly easing since November, echoing a pullback in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to…
