High housing costs and economic uncertainty pushed pending home sales to their lowest level since March.
New listings of U.S. homes for sale climbed 1.2% week over week to their highest level in over three months during the four weeks ending August 16. That marks the fifth straight week of increases. Note that this data is seasonally adjusted.
The upswing in new listings comes as homebuying demand slows: Pending home sales fell 1.3% week over week to their lowest level since March. Many house hunters are sitting on the sidelines because the economy is uncertain and housing costs are high. The weekly average mortgage rate is 6.67%, just shy of the highest level in 13 months, and the median home-sale price rose 1.8% year over year. One bit of relief for buyers: the median asking price fell 0.1%, a tiny decline but the first since January.