
According to a recent report from the Colorado Association of Realtors, existing home sales took a hit of 14.6% in September compared to the same month a year earlier. Sales of townhouses and condos dropped 15.2%. The National Association of Realtors notes that the same period showed a soft market across the country with existing home sales in the United States falling 3.4% in August from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.15 million. For the year, the numbers are off 4.1%. “A decade’s high mortgage rates are preventing consumers from making quick decisions on home purchases,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist, said in the report.
Those national declines look tame compared to what is going on in states like Colorado, Washington and California. Real estate brokerage Redfin, in a different report, estimates that sales in 50 of the 71 largest metros it tracks are now falling. “Last year and earlier this year, Seattle, San Jose and Denver were the hottest markets with homes selling in days, not weeks. These metros have now been replaced by Grand Rapids (Mich.), Omaha, Neb., and Indianapolis as the fastest markets in the country,” noted Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist.
“Sold listings –- down. New listings –- down. Affordability –- down. Inventory supply –- down. Days on market -– down. Interest rates –- up. Median price –- up and down,” said Chris Hardy, a Fort Collins area Realtor, in comments accompanying last week’s report of his home turf.
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