Home prices are falling for the first time since 2022 — but it’s only a tiny break in an otherwise rocky housing market.
After years of sky-high property prices across the US, average home prices dipped by 0.1 percent in April, according to new data from Redfin.
The price fall from March is the first monthly decline since 2022.
Redfin’s latest home price index shows that a combination of buyer nerves and a surplus of unsold inventory are halting price growth.
‘Home prices are flat, and that’s good news for buyers after years of rapid increases — but affordability is still a major hurdle,’ said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari.
Demand is down because potential buyers are adopting a cautious, ‘wait and see’ approach amid economic uncertainty and fears of a recession, he explained.
Of the 50 largest metro areas in the US, half saw price drops in April, stoking fears that a price crash could be on the horizon.
Pending sales also fell 3.5 percent last month, according to Redfin.
Charlotte, NC led the declines with a 1 percent dip in home prices in the US
Charlotte is a hot metro with a thriving tech and finance scene and a bustling downtown
Virginia Beach, VA saw declines in home prices which is good news for buyers
Supply is up, with the number of homes on the market at a five-year high.
But, there’s no sales boom. Homes are sitting on the market for longer and eager sellers are having to offer crazy concessions in order to seal the deal.
Of the 50 largest metro areas in the US, Charlotte, NC led the declines with a 1 percent dip.
That was followed by Virginia Beach, which was also down 1 percent and Miami which was down 0.7 percent.
Experts have been warning about a potential price crash in Miami and other parts of Florida for several months.
After years of surging demand due to the pandemic real estate boom, the region’s real estate market is now flooded with listings as desperate homeowners rush to sell amid soaring costs and vanishing buyers.
Overall, annual price growth is also slowing. Home prices were up 4.1 percent on a year-over-year basis, down from 4.9 percent growth in March.
That’s the lowest annual price growth since July 2023.
Nassau County, NY saw prices jump 1.8 percent and was one place where prices are rising
New York City did not see price drops, instead it had rising prices and low inventor
Home prices in Miami were down in April for the first time since 2022
A home in Oyster Bay, NY, where home prices bucked the trend and increased in April
Meanwhile, a few markets still saw a price increase month-on-month from March to April this year.
Nassau County, NY saw prices jump 1.8 percent, while Warren, MI and New York City landed close behind.
But since the recent average price drop across the US is so low, many would-be buyers are still locked out of the market thanks to persistently high mortgage rates.
‘Elevated mortgage rates and high prices mean that many buyers are stretching their budgets to make a purchase,’ Bokhari added.
Across the US, the classic American Dream of owning a home is now out of reach for much of the middle class.
A shortage of affordable properties is making homeownership nearly impossible, especially for workers in honorable fields like teaching and nursing.
In March, only one in five homes listed across the US was considered affordable for households earning $75,000 a year.
Before the pandemic, nearly half of all listings were considered within reach for the same income bracket, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The report found the US would need to add more than 400,000 new homes priced at $255,000 or less to return to pre-Covid levels of affordability.
