How Low Will They Go?

As we round the corner to the end of 2022, Realtor.com’s chief economist Danielle Hale is offering her predictions for the real estate market. After all, with such a crazy year, it helps to have a bit of an idea of what we might be able to expect. 

Average rates for a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.95% last week, though have rebounded ever so slightly. According to Freddie Mac, that number has climbed back up to 7.08% for the week ending Nov. 10. 

Even though mortgage rates are creeping up and up, home prices are doing the exact opposite. It is, however, a slow fall. Prices have already dropped from their Summertime peaks and will continue to decrease during the holiday season, perhaps not as quickly as some might hope. 

“The typical asking price will near but not likely slip below $400,000 again this year,” explains Hale. “The housing market is resetting, but in a slow fashion.”

This little break in home prices does help those who are slowly being priced out due to rate hikes. Granted, this is still the 45th week straight of double-digit growth, although the pace has at least been ebbing, which means that home shoppers might not have to contend with double-digit price hikes much longer.

“Continuing at its recent pace of slowing, median listing price growth would move back into single-digit territory just before the end of the year,” says Hale.

To sum up, “the market has slowed relative to peak buying season and relative to last fall,” adds Hale. “But compared to just about any other time period, homes are still selling relatively quickly.”