-- US pending home sales declined the most in three months during the four weeks ended April 5 as mortgage rates jumped to the highest level since September, Redfin said Thursday.
Pending sales fell 2.4% year-over-year to 87,473 units as the weekly mortgage rate jumped to 6.46%, according to the online real estate brokerage.
"The Iran war and the turmoil it's causing in the markets are the reason mortgage rates are rising," Redfin Data Journalist Dana Anderson said. "The war is also contributing to widespread economic uncertainty, sidelining many would-be homebuyers.
"The ceasefire that was announced on Tuesday sent oil prices down and rallied markets, and it could help bring mortgage rates back down into the low-6% range."
Sales plummeted by more than 15% each in Providence, Rhode Island, Houston and New York, while West Palm Beach, Florida, led the gains.
New listings fell 2.6% year-over-year to 101,059 during the four week period, the largest decline in a month.
"While new listings are losing steam, it's still a strong buyer's market almost everywhere in the country," Anderson said.
Newly pending listings grew in March at the fastest pace for the month since 2021 despite an increase in mortgage rates, Zillow Group (Z, ZG) said Monday.
Rising mortgage rates and a 2.2% annual increase in home-sale prices -- the biggest in a year -- have pushed the monthly mortgage payment to $2,750, up 0.2% from a year earlier, according to the Redfin report.