Nationally, existing home sales recently dropped to a 6-month low, falling 7.2% as buyers struggled to find a home amid rising prices and historic low inventory. Pending sales are also down, declining 4.1% as of last measure, according to the National Association of REALTORSĀ®. Builders areĀ working hard to ramp up productionāthe U.S. Census Bureau reports housing starts are up 22.3% compared to a year agoābut higher construction costs and increasing sales prices continue to hamper new home sales, despite high demand for additional supply.
![](https://haar.realtor/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Untitled.png)
Across the country, consumers are feeling the bite of inflation and surging mortgage interest rates, which recently hit 4.6% in March, according to Freddie Mac, rising 1.4 percent since January and the highest rate in more than 3 years. Monthly payments have increased significantly compared to this time last year, and as housing affordability declines, an increasing
number of would-be homebuyers are turning to the rental market, only to face similar challenges as rental prices skyrocket and vacancy rates remain at near-record low
Huntsville Madison County MMI 2022 03 by Sean Magers on Scribd