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. 

The Bay State also came out top when it comes to road safety.

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%.

The only other time the market saw such change was at the beginning of the pandemic. 

Month over month in September, existing-home sales slid 1.5% to 4.71 million, which is 23.8% lower than the year before. 

Last month had the fewest number of single-family sales in the month of September since 2014.

New home construction missed analyst estimates in September, falling 8.1% month over month to an annual rate 1,439,000 homes, according to government statistics. 

Economic uncertainties continue to impact the Bay State housing market, as affordability challenges once again priced out buyers in September. 

Mortgage rates rose to 6.9%, the highest they’ve been since April 2002.

First-time homebuyers now make up 45% of current homebuyers, according to Zillow. The numbers represent a rebound from the lows of the pandemic.

It can currently take up to 337 days to approve affordable housing; Wu hopes to reduce that time by half.

The new franchise will be the brokerage’s 16th in Europe as it pursues other expansion opportunities around the world. 

The former chairman and CEO of the homebuilder died of Parkinson’s disease at 81. 

More than a dozen Massachusetts communities were named to Wallet Hub’s 2022 Best Small Cities in America list. Three of those towns ranked in the top 10.

Two Bay State communities made the publication’s list of 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S.