Per AP NEWS; 2023 was slowest year for US home sales in nearly 30 years as high mortgage rates frustrated buyers
2023 was slowest year for US home sales in nearly 30 years as high mortgage rates frustrated buyers BY ALEX VEIGA Updated 10:46 AM CST, January 19, 2024 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank in 2023 to a nearly 30-year low, as sharply higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a persistently low level of homes on the market combined to push homeownership out of reach for many Americans. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.09 million last year, an 18.7% decline from 2022. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007, the start of the housing slump of the late 2000s. The median national home price for all of last year edged up just under 1% to record high $389,800, the NAR said. Last year’s home sales slump echoes the nearly 18% annual decline in 2022, when mortgage rates began rising, eventually more than doubling by the end of the year. That trend con...