September 2022 Real Estate Market Report
The U.S. real estate market continues to slow as we move into fall, as rising consumer prices and higher mortgage interest rates squeeze homebuyer budgets and cool activity.
In September 2022, Capital Region home prices were up 7 percent compared to last year, selling for a median price of $289,777. On average, homes in the Capital Region sold after 23 days on the market with 1,235 homes sold last month – a reduction from the 1,358 sold last September.
In a month-over-month comparison, September sales activity reported in at 1,235 closed transactions and 1,086 pending transactions in September 2022, following 1,282 closed and 1,266 pending transactions reported in August 2022.
“There are two factors contributing to the decline in transactions “ Kendal Baker, Marker’s Octagon Realty principal broker and GCAR President remarked, “The drop in historical seasonality and the increasing mortgage rates”.
The cost of borrowing has reached multi-year highs on everything from credit cards to auto loans in 2022 as mortgage interest rates topped 6% for the first time since 2008, contributing to the continued decline in home sales for the fourteenth consecutive month.
The Capital Region is headed toward a more balanced market that continues to favor sellers due to the limited supply of inventory. GCAR CEO, Laura Burns, commented that “Locally, the demand for housing remains constant. Even with the current financing conditions, serious buyers are still in the market giving sellers 100 percent of the original list price”.
The number of homes for sale was down compared to this time last year. Inventory levels market-wide decreased 33.9 percent to 2,140 units. While down over last year, the rate at which inventory is shrinking has begun to slow significantly. New construction contributed only 86 new listings in September to the inventory. With a median sale price of $479,040 – a 10 percent increase over September 2021 – remaining out of reach for most first-time home buyers.