Mortgage rates mostly leveled off in the week ending Aug. 15, following last week’s comparatively precipitous drop.
30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell one basis point to 6.28%. A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.
While rates may be cooling slightly, home prices continue to heat up around the country.
Median home prices hit mega millions in some metro areas
The sale prices of single-family existing homes rose in the second quarter of 2024 in 89% of tracked metro areas, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Within these areas, three metros saw price gains of nearly 20%: Racine, WI (19.8%), Glen Falls, NY (19.8%) and El Paso, TX (19.2%). The national median single-family existing-home price grew 4.9% from this time last year, reaching $422,100.
Seven of the top 10 most expensive metros at the end of Q2 are in California. The most expensive metro measured was San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, where the median home price grew 11.6% to an eye-watering $2,008,000.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun acknowledged that this is a boon for homeowners who continue to see their equity bloat, while would-be buyers face an even steeper climb up the economic ladder. “It's difficult for those wanting to buy a home as the required income to qualify has roughly doubled from just a few years ago," he said.
In fact, the national median home sale price is $100,000 more than in Q2 2019, in which the St. Louis Federal Reserve pegs at $322,500. That’s an increase of nearly 31% in just five years. To add additional perspective, the average 30-year mortgage rate never went above 4.65% in all of 2019, compared to 2024’s peak (so far) of 7.448% in May.
While price growth may seem discouraging, it is decelerating
Those in the market to buy a home may find these numbers disheartening, but price growth is ever-so-slightly slowing down. The national median home price increased 4.9% in Q2, compared to 5% in Q1. And though sale prices rose in 89% of tracked metro areas in Q2, this is down from 93% in Q1.
10% of tracked metro markets actually saw price declines, up from 7% in Q1.
If you’re planning to purchase a home, there are steps you can take now to maximize affordability — namely, shopping around for the best rate .
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Taylor Getler writes for NerdWallet. Email: tgetler@nerdwallet.com.
The article Weekly Mortgage Rates Cool; Metro Home Prices Hit Record Highs originally appeared on NerdWallet.
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