Housing Market Update: Home Prices Rebound Amidst Competition and Inflation Concerns.

The Federal Reserve's pause on interest rate hikes following a year of aggressive increases is unlikely to result in a significant drop in mortgage rates, but it does alleviate some uncertainty in the housing market. Elevated mortgage rates are prompting many homeowners to stay put, resulting in bidding wars as buyers compete for a small pool of homes. New listings in April were down 23% from a year earlier, the second biggest decline since the start of the pandemic, outpacing the 17% year-over-year decline in pending sales. Nearly half (48%) of homes that sold during the four weeks ending April 30 went under contract within two weeks, down from 51% a year earlier but up from 46% a month earlier.