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Pending Home Sales Hit 6-Week High as Mortgage Rates Ease, Redfin Says

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Pending Home Sales Hit 6-Week High as Mortgage Rates Ease, Redfin Says

US pending home sales reached the highest level in about six weeks as mortgage rates fell, with buyers shrugging off prices hovering near record highs, Redfin.com said Thursday.

Sales rose 6.3% year over year to 337,402 units in the four weeks through Sunday on a seasonally adjusted basis, their highest level since the first half of May, according to the online real estate brokerage.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 6.43% in the week through July 2, down from 6.49% a week earlier and 6.67% a year ago, Redfin said, citing Freddie Mac data. The median monthly housing payment hit its lowest level in six weeks at $2,598, according to the report.

"The mortgage-rate respite was brief," Redfin said. "Rates have since bounced back up, with the daily average rising to 6.68% on July 8."

The median sale price increased 2.2% on an annual basis to $408,808 in the four weeks through Sunday, with Redfin saying that's "just about $500 shy" of the all-time high.

"The housing market is kicking off the summer by showing a bit of resilience," Redfin Head of Economics Research Chen Zhao said.

"While near-record prices and a lack of new listings are keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines, there are enough house hunters hitting the pavement to push pending sales up," Zhao said. "If that trend continues, we may get more fresh listings from sellers hoping to take advantage of demand and high prices."

Separately, National Association of Realtors data showed Thursday that existing home sales in the US unexpectedly decreased in June as the median price reached an all-time high.

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