Home Price Gains Continue to Soar in April as Rising Mortgage Rates Drive Buyer UrgencyBy RISMedia Staff
U.S. home prices posted another record-high year-over-year increase in April, marking the 123rd-straight month of gains, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast™ for April 2022, released Tuesday.
Rising mortgage rates drove buyer urgency and the resulting price growth, with about 70% of U.S. homes selling for more than asking price this spring. However, higher mortgage rates will likely also put the brakes on buyer demand in the coming months, causing annual home price appreciation to cool to 5.6% by April 2023. Key findings:
“The record growth in home prices is a result of a scarcity of for-sale inventory coupled with eager buyers who want to purchase before mortgage rates go higher,” said Patrick Dodd, president and CEO at CoreLogic. “Most buyers who closed on their home in April had locked in their mortgage rate in February or March when rates were lower than today. With 30-year fixed mortgage rates much higher now, we expect to see waning buyer activity because of eroding affordability. Consequently, our forecast projects slowing price growth over the coming year.” |
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