Is Relief Ahead For Home Buyers?

A new quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors found the median home price reached a new record high during the second quarter.

By the end of June, it was up to $413,500.

That’s after the vast majority of metro areas saw double-digit price gains from the year before. Put simply, it got more expensive to buy a home this spring. But though buying got more costly during the first half of the year, the second half is bringing buyers some relief.

Maybe, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. Yun says buyers may begin to see affordability conditions continue to improve as the market finds better balance. In fact, prices and rates have both gotten more favorable in recent days. “Overall, the national price deceleration inevitably followed the softening sales, providing well-positioned buyers a small measure of welcomed relief,” Yun said. “The recent dips in mortgage rates will bring additional buyers to the market, especially in those places where home prices are still relatively affordable and where jobs are being added.”

In other words, home price increases have already begun to slow and, with mortgage rates down from where they were earlier this year, home buyers may begin to see a little relief, after a challenging first half of the year.