September is the fourth month in a row to see declining sales activity. 

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.08% this week from 6.94% a week ago, Freddie Mac reported. A year ago, the average mortgage carried a 3.14% rate. 

Mortgage rates continued to weigh on homebuyers in September, following a brief uptick in new-home sales in August.  

At the same time, mortgage applications declined 1.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis on a week-over-week basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. 

In Dallas, home prices posted a 20.2% year-over-year gain in August, compared to a 24.7% gain in July. Month over month, prices fell 1.9%.

Month over month in September, existing-home sales slid 1.5% to 4.71 million, which is 23.8% lower than the year before. 

New home construction missed analyst estimates in September, falling 8.1% month over month to an annual rate 1,439,000 homes, according to government statistics. 

Looking ahead, CoreLogic expects the year-over-year pace of home-price appreciation to slow to 3.5% by August 2023. 

The average median home size varies drastically across the country, according to American Home Shield’s 2022 American Home Size Index.

The National Association of REALTORS® expects existing-home sales to close 2022 15.2% lower compared to 2021, thanks to economic uncertainty and rising mortgage rates. 

Sales of new homes in the U.S. jumped 28.8% between July and August, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  

The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $389,500, a 7.7% rise from the year before. 

New-home construction posted a 12.2% month-over-month increase in August, thanks in large part to a significant jump in multifamily building.  

A continuing combination of increased interest rates, supply-chain disruptions and high home prices has sapped homebuilder sentiment every month this year. 

Mortgage applications declined 1.2% during the week ended Sept. 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. 

The modest 1% decline could indicate the current housing cycle is reaching a bottom as mortgage rates recede from their recent high, the National Association of REALTORS® said.