US Pending Home Sales Sink 7.3% to 25-Year Low as 30-Year Mortgage Rate Tops 7%

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Oct 21

September contract signings to buy homes fell 7.3% from August and 11.3% from a year earlier, dropping to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking the series in 2001.
Mortgage rates above 7% drove the pullback, with higher borrowing costs pushing buyers out of the market and signaling weaker closed sales in coming months.
A move from 7% to 7.5% can add about $400 to a monthly payment, one Virginia agent said, forcing some buyers to hunt across lenders or abandon purchases.
Sellers are increasingly cutting prices to meet softer demand: 44% of listed homes had a price reduction as of Oct. 18, while the median list price in early October was about $415,000.
The slump is spreading across housing, with builders already reporting buyer traffic at a 14-year low and a gloomier outlook for new-home demand.