Home sales slow as rising mortgage rates drive up monthly payments

Rhea-AI Summary

In September, U.S. home values held steady at $358,283, reflecting a 12.9% increase from last year, yet home sales dropped nearly 30% compared to 2021. High-cost metros, particularly on the West Coast, witnessed significant value declines, with Austin down 8.2%. Mortgage rates, expected to reach around 7%, have stifled buyer activity, with new listings falling 11.4% month-over-month. Despite inventory rising 3% year-over-year, it remains 38% below 2019 levels. Rent growth is moderating, but affordability issues persist, impacting spending on essentials.

Positive

• U.S. home values are up 12.9% year-over-year and 43.5% since 2019.
• Half of the 100 largest metros saw home values rise from August to September.
• Current homeowners have substantial equity despite price declines in some areas.

Negative

• Home sales decreased nearly 30% year-over-year.
• New pending listings fell 18% month-over-month.
• Mortgage rates are volatile and projected to stay high, affecting buyer affordability.

High-growth and high-cost metros across the West are seeing the largest value declines from peak levels

• The typical U.S. home value stayed steady from August, halting declines in previous months. Values are still up 44% compared to 2019.
• Home sales in September took a significant step down since August and are nearly 30% lower than at this time last year.
• Inventory levels are up 3% over 2021, but new listings continue to fall.

SEATTLE, Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The housing market continued to cool in September, though rebalancing from monumental appreciation is producing vastly different conditions depending on region and metro, according to Zillow®'s latest market report¹. Affordability issues are driving the pullback in activity; steep prices mixed with high and volatile mortgage rates have stunted sales and frozen current owners in their homes, reducing the flow of new inventory. 

Current homeowners are looking at home prices and the mortgage market and deciding to stay put. Among home sellers, 71% are also buyers. Homeowners who either bought or refinanced at record-low rates over the past two years understand that current rates are going to yield a lot less home than they're currently in unless they seek out a much more affordable area.

At the national level, home values stayed roughly steady from August to September after dropping slightly in the previous two months. The typical U.S. home value is $358,283, up 12.9% from last year and nearly $110,000 (43.5%) above 2019. Of the 100 largest metros, exactly half saw home values rise from August to September. 

"The late-summer mortgage rate reprieve brought a short-lived surge of buyers back into the market, proving that many priced-out home shoppers are poised to buy when homeownership becomes more affordable," said Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow. "Unfortunately, shoppers this winter are more likely to contend with mortgage rates in the ballpark of 7%, making even this summer's rising rates look modest by comparison. Still, as many rate-sensitive shoppers stay sidelined, those who forge ahead now will find more options and more eager sellers than anytime since the pandemic began."

Home values have fallen the furthest from peak levels in expensive and high-growth metros in the Mountain states and on the West Coast; the largest drops are in Austin (-8.2%), San Francisco (-7.9%) and Salt Lake City (-6.8%). Among the 100 largest U.S. metros, the 17 with the largest home value declines from peak levels are in the West. However, owners in these areas should still have significant equity in their homes; home value appreciation since 2019 ranges from 26% in San Francisco to 65% in Austin.  

Sales slowed significantly in September. The number of newly pending listings fell 18% month over month and are down 29.3% compared to last year, in part because of a sharp deceleration in activity at the end of the month, when rates were highest. Sales are down more than 6% from September 2019. Mortgage rates — the largest driver of monthly payments — rose through September and are so volatile, they are hurting buyers' ability to plan for the future.

The flow of new for-sale listings to the market remained anemic; an 11.4% drop from August was the third straight month of double-digit declines. Although the flow of new listings typically slows down at this time of year, the decline from this year's spring peak is larger than in 2019. But even as demand has fallen off, tight supply could insulate the market from a significant price correction.

Total inventory is now 3% above levels a year ago, but remains 38% below that of 2019. Considering the drastic decline in new additions to the market, the rise in total inventory is due to listings staying on the market longer. Listings' median time on the market rose from August and now stands at 19 days. That's a more leisurely pace than last year's 11 days on market, but much faster than in September 2019, when listings typically waited a month before the seller accepted an offer. 

Buyers still in the market are seeing far less competitive conditions than in months past, giving them more time to decide on a home, less chance of a bidding war and greater leverage in negotiations. 

Now at 27.5% nationwide, the share of listings with a price cut is also rising — up from 18.3% in 2021 and September 2019's rate of 22.3%. Among the top-100 largest metro areas, those with the largest share of price cuts are Boise (47.8%), Phoenix (45%), Ogden, Utah (44.4%), and Salt Lake City (43.9%). 

Although rent growth is moderating, rapid increases throughout the pandemic have drastically reduced rental affordability. Zillow's rent index pegs typical U.S. rent at $2,084, with 10.8% annual growth in September, down from a record-breaking peak of 17.2% in February. Month-over-month growth has declined to a more normal rate of 0.3% — far from the peak of 2.2% seen in July 2021. 

But the share of renters' income that goes toward housing has marched up, from 29% in September 2019 to 35% now. When housing costs require more than 30% of a household's income, it becomes a financial burden, leaving less to spend on other essentials, like groceries. And a typical renter spending more than 32% of their income on rent has been tied to a more rapid increase in homelessness. Since 2019, rents have risen the most in Miami (51.5%), Tampa (49.1%) and Phoenix (43.8%). 

Metropolitan Area*	September Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) (Raw)	Sept. ZHVI Year-Over-Year Change (Raw)	Sept. ZHVI Month- Over- Month Change (Raw)	Change in Typical Days on Market Since 2021	Share of Listings With a Price Cut	Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI)	Zillow Observed Rent Index Year-Over-Year Change
United States	$358,283	12.9 %	0.0 %	8	27.5 %	$2,084	10.8 %
New York, NY	$619,774	8.4 %	-0.1 %	8	16.8 %	$3,321	15.5 %
Los Angeles, CA	$895,380	5.6 %	-0.6 %	11	26.4 %	$3,019	10.3 %
Chicago, IL	$311,696	9.2 %	0.0 %	5	30.0 %	$1,942	8.8 %
Dallas–Fort Worth, TX	$389,153	16.8 %	-0.4 %	2	36.7 %	$1,876	11.4 %
Philadelphia, PA	$339,514	9.5 %	0.3 %	1	25.9 %	$1,843	8.1 %
Houston, TX	$313,520	14.0 %	-0.1 %	10	32.9 %	$1,628	6.7 %
Washington, DC	$551,350	6.2 %	0.4 %	6	28.8 %	$2,310	7.5 %
Miami–Fort Lauderdale, FL	$477,984	25.7 %	0.6 %	8	21.2 %	$2,912	18.8 %
Atlanta, GA	$382,424	17.6 %	-0.3 %	11	32.8 %	$2,024	8.9 %
Boston, MA	$651,398	8.2 %	-0.1 %	1	22.2 %	$2,902	10.7 %
San Francisco, CA	$1,375,410	2.8 %	-0.1 %	7	26.6 %	$3,304	6.0 %
Detroit, MI	$239,993	7.3 %	-0.1 %	6	28.5 %	$1,495	8.3 %
Riverside, CA	$570,079	8.6 %	-0.9 %	18	30.8 %	$2,647	8.1 %
Phoenix, AZ	$451,313	8.1 %	-2.3 %	24	45.0 %	$1,951	6.6 %
Seattle, WA	$757,495	8.9 %	-0.1 %		36.5 %	$2,368	8.0 %
Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN	$371,712	5.8 %	-0.2 %	7	29.3 %	$1,652	4.3 %
San Diego, CA	$879,980	8.9 %	-0.6 %	13	32.9 %	$3,191	15.0 %
St. Louis, MO	$244,924	10.0 %	0.1 %	1	25.1 %	$1,315	9.7 %
Tampa, FL	$391,114	23.2 %	-0.2 %	11	35.5 %	$2,167	12.0 %
Baltimore, MD	$377,121	7.4 %	-0.2 %	3	27.1 %	$1,815	4.2 %
Denver, CO	$622,434	9.8 %	0.0 %		39.7 %	$2,046	7.1 %
Pittsburgh, PA	$209,094	3.9 %	-0.5 %	2	29.3 %	$1,351	7.5 %
Portland, OR	$565,487	6.1 %	0.1 %	12	35.2 %	$1,979	8.5 %
Charlotte, NC	$388,986	18.9 %	-0.3 %	9	35.2 %	$1,861	12.0 %
Sacramento, CA	$591,512	4.0 %	0.5 %	15	37.3 %	$2,342	5.4 %
San Antonio, TX	$340,964	15.4 %	-0.3 %	14	33.7 %	$1,533	8.0 %
Orlando, FL	$402,021	23.4 %	-0.3 %	10	30.3 %	$2,103	14.1 %
Cincinnati, OH	$265,795	10.8 %	0.5 %	1	25.5 %	$1,479	12.1 %
Cleveland, OH	$220,205	10.0 %	-0.3 %	1	26.3 %	$1,369	7.5 %
Kansas City, MO	$288,727	11.0 %	0.0 %	2	27.3 %	$1,400	11.3 %
Las Vegas, NV	$433,068	12.3 %	-1.9 %	24	42.0 %	$1,871	4.5 %
Columbus, OH	$306,419	13.1 %	-0.1 %	2	28.1 %	$1,510	10.4 %
Indianapolis, IN	$276,020	15.9 %	0.5 %	4	32.5 %	$1,530	11.5 %
San Jose, CA				7	24.1 %	$3,420	9.4 %
Austin, TX	$553,280	6.2 %	-0.9 %	25	38.9 %	$1,950	8.2 %
Virginia Beach, VA	$335,226	11.4 %	0.5 %	0	20.8 %	$1,674	6.0 %
Nashville, TN	$455,447	21.6 %	-0.1 %	13	38.3 %	$1,923	11.3 %
Providence, RI	$452,022	9.8 %	0.4 %	3	21.8 %	$1,968	10.3 %
Milwaukee, WI	$269,220	6.8 %	-0.4 %	-2	17.4 %	$1,279	7.6 %
Jacksonville, FL	$380,452	22.6 %	0.2 %	16	37.8 %	$1,820	9.4 %
Memphis, TN	$236,039	14.8 %	0.1 %	1	22.2 %	$1,543	9.1 %
Oklahoma City, OK	$222,517	14.4 %	0.5 %	5	29.1 %	$1,373	8.2 %
Louisville, KY	$244,904	10.3 %	0.4 %	3	30.4 %	$1,326	12.4 %
Hartford, CT	$321,994	9.2 %	-0.6 %	-2	19.7 %	$1,721	9.2 %
Richmond, VA	$343,978	12.5 %	0.6 %	1	23.1 %	$1,668	11.3 %
New Orleans, LA	$269,526	8.4 %	-1.0 %	-2	31.6 %	$1,548	8.9 %
Buffalo, NY	$245,515	8.6 %	-0.4 %	1	20.7 %	$1,291	8.3 %
Raleigh, NC	$450,960	17.8 %	-0.1 %	11	40.9 %	$1,836	11.1 %
Birmingham, AL	$250,875	13.1 %	0.0 %	6	22.4 %	$1,390	8.4 %
Salt Lake City, UT	$584,819	8.2 %	0.4 %	14	43.9 %	$1,751	12.2 %

*Table ordered by market size 

¹  The Zillow Real Estate Market Report is a monthly overview of the national and local real estate markets. The reports are compiled by Zillow Research. For more information, visit www.zillow.com/research.

About Zillow Group
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make it easier to unlock life's next chapter. As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates offer customers an on-demand experience for selling, buying, renting, or financing with transparency and ease. 

Zillow Group's affiliates and subsidiaries include Zillow®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans™; Zillow Closing Services™; Trulia®; Out East®; StreetEasy®; HotPads®; and ShowingTime+™, which houses ShowingTime®, Bridge Interactive®, and dotloop®. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). 

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SOURCE Zillow

FAQ

What is the current average U.S. home value as of September 2022?

The average U.S. home value is $358,283.

How much did home sales drop in September 2022 compared to last year?

Home sales dropped nearly 30% compared to September 2021.

Which metro areas saw the largest home value declines from peak levels?

Austin, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City experienced the largest declines, with falls of 8.2%, 7.9%, and 6.8%, respectively.

What is driving the decline in home sales in 2022?

Affordability issues due to steep prices and high mortgage rates are stunting sales.

How does the current inventory level compare to previous years?

Current total inventory is 3% above last year but remains 38% below 2019 levels.