Beantown rents remain high as they fall nationally

The Bay State housing market is cooling as sellers are holding off until conditions improve to sell their homes.

It’s not the only metric decelerating in today’s market. Inflation is also starting to slow which is helping bring down mortgage rates.

Downsizing from a four-bedroom home to a two-bedroom home in the Boston area would save the typical homeowner nearly $275,000.

From dropping home prices, increased inventory and homes staying on the market longer, today’s buyers should look at the upside to what the market means for their prospects.

Homebuyer demand is starting to stabilize as October home sales posted the largest decline since 2015, according to a new report.

The 44th edition of the in-depth forecast report examined 80 cities to determine trends in the real estate industry for 2023.

The median age of inventory in Boston is 38 days, down from 47 before the pandemic began.

Looking ahead, CoreLogic expects national year-over-year appreciation to slow to 3.9% by September 2023. 

September is the fourth month in a row to see declining sales activity. 

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.08% this week from 6.94% a week ago, Freddie Mac reported. A year ago, the average mortgage carried a 3.14% rate. 

Mortgage rates continued to weigh on homebuyers in September, following a brief uptick in new-home sales in August.  

At the same time, mortgage applications declined 1.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis on a week-over-week basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

In Boston, home prices posted an 11.4% year-over-year gain in August, compared to a 1.3% gain in July. Month over month, prices fell 1.2%.

Boston home values have also rose well above affordability norms.

“After a sustained period of quick sales that kept the housing cupboard relatively bare, a supply of two months presents a lot more options for homebuyers,” said RE/MAX President and CEO Nick Bailey.