U.S. home sales rebounded in September, with existing home sales increasing 7 percent. Sales recorded a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.29 million in September, a decrease of 2.3 percent from a year ago. Total housing inventory continued to fall, with listings down 0.8 percent from August, and 13 percent compared to a year ago. Tight housing supply pushed up prices, so that the U.S. median home price rose 13.3 percent from the year prior, to $352,800.
Mortgage rates climbed to their highest since early April. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage released by Freddie Mac increased to 3.09 percent for last week, and Tuesday’s rate was 3.26 percent. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage stayed flat at 2.52 percent. The 5/1 ARM rose to 2.76 percent.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last week that the U.S. central bank will likely begin tapering in November but will keep its benchmark interest rate untouched for now. Powell mentioned that the Fed may need to raise rates in the future to prevent inflation from spiraling, but that is not happening at the moment. Powell said that “supply constraints and elevated inflation are likely to last longer than previously expected and well into next year, and the same is true for pressure on wages.”
