Published by Independent Sentinel | December 2, 2022
Evidence is mounting that the current housing downturn is growing more severe by the day.
U.S. home prices are plunging at their most significant clip since the housing market cratered during the Great Recession, mortgage analytics firm Black Knight said in a report released in August.
According to Black Knight’s August Mortgage Monitor report, median home prices fell by 0.98% from July to August. Revised data showed an even sharper 1.05% decline from June to July.
“Together, they represent two straight months of significant pullbacks after more than two years of record-breaking growth,” said Black Knight Data & Analytics President Ben Graboske.
“The only months with materially higher single-month price declines than we’ve seen in July and August were in the winter of 2008, following the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and subsequent financial crisis,” Graboske added.
The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) sank 4.6% to 77.1 in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Year-over-year, pending transactions slipped by 37.0%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
“October was a difficult month for home buyers as they faced 20-year-high mortgage rates,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “The West region, in particular, suffered from the combination of high interest rates and expensive home prices. Only the Midwest squeaked out a gain.”
