May home sales rise, near record-few on the market
Alex Veiga ASSOCIATEDPRESS
LOS ANGELES — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes edged higher in May and the national median sale price posted its biggest annual drop in more than a decade, as a near all-time low supply of available properties constrained the housing market.
Existing home sales rose 0.2 percent last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.3 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s slightly above what economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
Sales sank 20.4 percent compared with May last year. That marks 10 consecutive months of annual sales declines of 20 percent or more. The annual drop was steepest in markets across the West and Northeast, where sales slumped more than 25 percent.
The national median home price fell 3.1 percent from May last year to $396,100, the NAR said. The year-over-year decline is the biggest since December 2011, when the housing market was still on the mend following the mid2000s housing bust.
The latest housing market figures are more evidence that even with prices declining after heading higher for more than a decade many house hunters
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rate falls to 6.67 percent
ASSOCIATED PRESS
are being held back by a persistently low inventory of homes for sale.
“There’s simply not enough inventory,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.
All told, there were 1.08 million homes on the market by the end of May, an increase of 3.8 percent from April, but down 6.1 percent from a year earlier, the NAR said.
The number of homes on the market at the end of May amounts to a 3-month
supply at the current sales pace, an improvement over the 2.9 months in April and 2.6 months in May last year. Still, in a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, there is a 5- to 6-month supply.
The shortage of homes for sale has kept the market competitive, driving bidding wars in many places, especially for the most affordable homes. One-third of the homes that were purchased last month sold for more than their list
price, Yun said. Homes listed for sale in May typically sold within just 18 days, while 74 percent were on the market for less than a month, the NAR said. The combination of high borrowing costs and intense competition for the most affordable homes on the market is keeping many first-time buyers on the sidelines. They accounted for 28 percent of home sales last month, down from 29 percent in April.
“First-time buyers (are) still struggling to get into the market,” Yun said.
While many homes are selling quickly after they hit the market, the dearth of properties for sale continues to be a drag on sales overall this year.
The U.S. housing market’s sales slump started a little more than a year ago, when the average rate on a 30year mortgage began to climb from ultra-low levels as the Federal Reserve began raising its short-term
rate in its fight against inflation. Global demand for U.S. Treasurys, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans, investors’ expectations for future inflation and what the Fed does with interest rates influence rates on home loans.
The average rate on a 30year home loan is still more than double what it was two years ago, when the ultra-low rates spurred a wave of home sales and refinancing. It fell this week to 6.67 percent, its third consecutive drop, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago it averaged 5.81 percent.
Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for homebuyers on top of already high home prices. They also discourage homeowners who locked in those low rates two years ago from selling — one reason the supply of homes for sale has been stubbornly low.
The trend will continue to be a major challenge for the housing market this year, said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. She forecasts that U.S. home sales will top out at around 4.2 million this year, which would be down around 16 percent from 2022 and the fewest since 2012. The forecast also calls for U.S. home prices to fall 0.6 percent for the year and for mortgage rates to drop to near 6 percent by the end of this year.
LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the third time in as many weeks, a welcome boost for homebuyers facing a housing market that’s been held back this year by a tight inventory of homes for sale.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell to 6.67 percent from 6.69 percent last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.81 percent.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with those refinancing their homes, also fell this week, slipping to 6.03 percent from 6.10 percent last week. A year ago, it averaged 4.92 percent, Freddie Mac said.
“Mortgage rates slid down again this week but remain elevated compared to this time last year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
With the latest drop, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at its lowest level since the last week of May, when it was at 6.57 percent. The average climbed to 6.79 percent, its highest level so far this year, in the first week of June.
A decline in mortgage rates can save homebuyers hundreds of dollars a month in borrowing costs on a home loan. That can make a big difference at a time when a historic-low level of homes on the market is spurring bidding wars that are helping keep prices from falling sharply after soaring in recent years.
NOTICEOFINTENTTOFORECLOSEINTERVALOWNERSHIPINTERESTSANDOF SALEBYPUBLICAUCTION.NOTICEISHEREBYGIVENpursuanttothetermsof theTimeshareDeclarationthatthefollowingtimeshareinterestsmore particularlydescribedinthelien(s)referredtoin Schedule“1” willbe forecloseduponbytheforeclosingagent,FirstAmericanTitleCompanyon behalfof PahioTimeShareOwnersAssociation,aHawaiinonprofit corporation bysaleofpropertysecuredtherebyatpublicauctionon 07/07/2023 at 1:00PM at VidinhaStadium,HoolakoSt,Lihue,HI 96766,underthetrees,atentrancetothestadium. Eachofthe propertiestobesoldisaTimeshareInterestat Ka’EoKaiPhasesII&III establishedbycertainDeclarationrecordedas Bk.18221Pg.001 inthe officeofBureauofConveyancesorAssistantRegistraroftheLandCourt,State ofHawaiiandasamendedandwhichpropertyislocatedat 3970Wyllie Road,Princeville,HI,96722. TheTimeshareInterestasnotedonthe NoticeofLien,whichhasbeenfiledagainsttherecordownerasconsistsof delinquentmaintenancefees,(plusinterest,latecharges,andcollectionand enforcementcosts).Termsofthesaleare:(1)Noupsetprice.(2)Property soldwithoutcovenantorwarranty,expressorimplied,astothetitle possessionorencumbrances;(3)Atthecloseoftheauction,Purchasershall pay100%ofthehighestsuccessfulbidprice(“Bid”)bycertified,orcashier’s checktoFIRSTAMERICANTITLECOMPANY;providedthattheAssociationmay submitacreditbiduptotheamountofthesecuredindebtedness;(4) Purchasershallpayallclosingcostsincluding,butnotlimitedto:costsof documentdrafting,notaryfees,consentfees,escrowfees,conveyancetax, recordationfeesandothercharges,togetherwithanyspecialassessments whichmayariseunderHRS514B-146(g)(h)(i);(5)Iftitleisnotconveyedto Purchaserforanyreason,otherthanPurchaser’sfailuretoperformas specifiedherein,theAssociation’ssoleresponsibilityshallbethereturnofthe BidfundstenderedbyPurchaser.ThePurchasershallhavenofurtherrecourse againsttheAssociationoritsagents,attorneys,servicersandauctioneers;(6) Thesalemaybepostponedfromtimetotimebypublicannouncementbythe Associationorsomeoneactingonitsbehalf;(7)BysubmittingtheBid, Purchaseracknowledgesreadingthetermsandconditionssetforthinthis noticeandagreestobeboundtherebyandsignawrittenacceptanceofall termsherein.Forfurtherinformationregardingthissale,youmustcontact WyndhamVacationResorts,Inc.,aDelawarecorporation at(800)2518736.ConductorofthepublicsaleinthestateofHawaii:AQUALEGALLLCon behalfof,FirstAmericanTitle,agentforClaimant;Phone:(808)539-7504; Address:1099AlakeaStreet,suite2430,Honolulu,Hawaii96813.BatchNo: ForeclosureHOA126477-KEK23-HOA.Schedule“1”:LienRecording DateandReference:04/19/2023;Inst:A-85090539; Timeshare Interest(ContractNo.),Owner(s);10205,FERNMANHA;10351,GEORGEF. HAPIPandRUTHG.HAPIP,asTrustees,ortheirsuccessorsintrust,underthe HAPIPFAMILYTRUSTU/T/ADATEDJULY16,2003;11042,DAVIDERCOLE RONCOandELIZABETHANNRONCO;12845,DAVIDLEEJACKSONand PATRICIAANNJACKSON;14373,WYNEXHOLDINGS,LLC,aFloridaLimited LiabilityCompany;15963,TETSUOKATO;16105,KWAMELBELISLE;16120, RAYHODGESandNANCYC.BLASIandDAVIDL.BLASI;170,GRETCHEN MARIEYOUNGSTROM;1839,ANDREWD.BOGLEandJANEH.BOGLE;2574, CALVINDOUGLASCARRandTERESAANNCARRandANHTUANDANGand QUYNHTHINGUYEN;4247,JOSEPHW.COXandREGINAM.COX,Trusteesof theCOXFAMILYTRUST,DOT4/96;4958,ANDREWDOWBOGLEandJANE HIRSTBOGLE;8037,TSUNENORIYAMAUCHIandYAYOIYAMAUCHIand HIROSHIYAMAUCHIandTAKASHIYAMAUCHI;8038,TSUNENORIYAMAUCHI andYAYOIYAMAUCHIandHIROSHIYAMAUCHIandTAKASHIYAMAUCHI; 8863,W.LOUISMCDONALD;9554,JAMESCHEALandDR.MARYLOUCHEAL, TrusteesoftheCHEALFAMILYTRUSTDTDOCTOBER2,1989;9564,FRANK RAYMONDHOFandELLENMACINTIREHOF;9689,FRANKMARRELLIand MARGARET
(TGI1418315
