Cost of mortgages up 20% since December
Monthly mortgage payments appear to be rising at a significant rate
It's getting more expensive for Americans to own a home.
As the housing market continues to surge, the costs of mortgages have risen by about a fifth in only a few months, according to a new Zillow report.
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Zillow released its Real Estate Market Report for March, which states that the average cost for a monthly mortgage payment has risen about 20% since December. (iStock / iStock)
The American online real-estate marketplace company released its Real Estate Market Report for March, which states that the average cost for a monthly mortgage payment has risen about 20% since December. Despite that, pending sales continued to rise and the typical time in which houses were on the market continued to shrink.
Mortgages are about 38% more expensive than they were one year ago.
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Meanwhile, for-sale inventory and pending sales both grew by about 11% from the pervious month. (iStock / iStock)
Jeff Tucker, Zillow senior economist, said, "Higher mortgage rates were anticipated this year, but the speed of their rise has been breathtaking. Record low mortgage rates had been an affordability lifeline during the pandemic, keeping monthly payments in check even while prices climbed quickly."
He continued, "March was the biggest test yet of whether enough buyers can meet the new asking prices to keep home values growing at a record pace, and the answer was 'So far, yes.' There will be a point when the cost of buying a home deters enough buyers to bring price growth back down to Earth, but for now, there is plenty of fuel in the tank as home shopping season kicks into gear."
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Jeff Tucker, Zillow senior economist, said, "Higher mortgage rates were anticipated this year, but the speed of their rise has been breathtaking. (iStock / iStock)
The average value of a home in the United States is $337,560, which is up 20.6% from a year ago, the report states.
Meanwhile, for-sale inventory and pending sales both grew by about 11% from the previous month. During that same period, the time that houses sat on the market before being bought decreased by two days.