Pending home sales sink to 12-year low after mortgage rates soar past 7%
“It’s not surprising that when rates climb above 7%, fewer people buy homes because fewer people can afford them,” Zhao said.
“But dig a little deeper, and there’s a silver lining on both sides. For buyers, less competition means more room to negotiate: on price, on closing costs, on repairs, and sometimes sellers even pay for a mortgage-rate buydown.”
Brian Connelly, a Redfin Premier agent based in Boston, Massachusetts, described a market fundamentally changed from the conditions of the prior decade.
“For the last decade, there was almost a certainty that if you listed a home, it would sell — and it would usually sell quickly, with multiple offers,” Connelly said.
“Now, the calculus has changed.”
