It’s no secret that many markets struggle in today’s testing economy. However, the housing market seems to have taken one of the greatest hits.
October marks a 13-year low in home sales across the United States, meaning the previous low was in 2010, coming out of the 2008 stock market crashes.
CNBC reports home sales in October 2023 are down 4.1% from September due to all-time high mortgage rates and a lack of housing inventory. According to CNBC, the median price of a home sold in the U.S. in October 2023 was $391,800, up 3.4% from last year’s median sale price of $378,800.
U.S. vs. Sacramento Housing Market Trends
Based on
RedFin’s housing trends report, Sacramento housing prices were up 5.3% from October 2022, with a 2023 median home sale price of $500,000. That is up over $100,000 from the nationwide median home sale price of $391,800. However, there were only 327 homes sold in Sacramento during October, which is down 11.1% from the amount of homes sold in October 2022
There is a correlation with the number of home sales decreasing in a month, while the median sale price increases. Based on this data, fewer people are moving as the interest rates and home prices continue to rise.
What Does This Mean?
Based on our research, experts expect this housing market lull to last for the next year or so as the interest rates seemingly decrease slower than they initially increased. Since most homeowners were locked into a mortgage before rates skyrocketed, it seems that most moves are occurring out of necessity rather than simply wanting a change. The consistent decrease in the number of homes on the market correlates with this.
CNBC reported that about 1.15 homes were on the market nationwide at the end of October 2023, roughly half the number of homes listed pre-Covid. CNBC also noted that most homes listed for sale were on the higher end of the market, as in homes priced over 1 million dollars.
Therefore, we predict a lull in the market until the mortgage rates decrease and people feel comfortable parting with their current mortgage rates.