Rising Rates May Have a Silver Lining

Homebuyers could soon catch a break in this hot seller’s market. Sellers lowered prices and housing inventory grew after the average 30 year, fixed-rate mortgage passed 5% last week.

Specifically, for the four weeks ending April 3, sellers dropped their asking prices about 12% on new homes. Based on recent data, that’s an increase of 9% compared to this time last year. New listings also rose 8% year over year after four repeated weeks of declines. Demand still outstrips supply, but it’s good to know there may be a silver lining in rising rates.