(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – In a new development hammering home Americans’ plight under Bidenomics, pending home sales have declined to their lowest level on record, while mortgage rates are surging, leaving the housing market in a worse shape than even during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
In October, the number of pending home sales, which are indicative of signed contracts on existing homes, experienced a significant decline, reaching the lowest point since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began monitoring this data in 2001.
This drop represents a more severe downturn than those observed during the financial crisis, also known as the Great Recession, a little over a decade ago, CNBC reports.
The sales in October decreased by 1.5% from September and were down 8.5% compared to the same month last year, according to the NAR data.
This index, measuring signed contracts, is a current indicator of housing demand, reflecting the activity of buyers in October.
Meanwhile, at about the same time, interest rates for the popular 30-year fixed mortgage briefly exceeded 8%.
Although mortgage rates have since decreased to around 7.3%, as reported by Mortgage News Daily, the housing market continues to be impacted not only by high rates but also by a persistent shortage of homes available for sale.
“Recent weeks’ successive declines in mortgage rates will help qualify more home buyers, but limited housing inventory is significantly preventing housing demand from fully being satisfied,” commented Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the NAR
“Multiple offers, of course, yield only one winner, with the rest left to continue their search,” the expert noted.
All regions except the Northeast saw a month-to-month decrease in pending sales, with the most significant drop occurring in the West, which is also the region with the most expensive homes.
The report points out that year-over-year comparisons also show a decline in sales across all regions.
Despite the tight supply and robust demand, home prices have continued to soar, not just reaching new highs but also accelerating in their increases.
The NAR noted that sales of homes priced above $750,000 have risen, primarily due to the greater availability of properties in the higher-end market segment.
