(The Center Square) – New home sales in the U.S. dropped last month as mortgage rates have soared.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new home sales fell 5.6% in October, more than expected.
“The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2023 was $409,300,” the Bureau said in its announcement. “The average sales price was $487,000.”
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the U.S. in October rose to nearly 8% before dipping closer to 7% in November. About this time in 2021, the average rate was around 3%.
That interest rate spike has been fueled in large part by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has hiked the federal funds rate about a dozen times since March of last year in an effort to combat elevated inflation.
Both inflation and those rates can eventually come down, but it would take time.
“With interest rates edging higher in October, it was expected that new home sales would disappoint, however, as mortgage rates inched lower following Treasury’s November 1 announcement of lower than anticipated funding needs, coupled with the market’s perception of a decidedly more dovish Fed, rates have edged lower fueling a climb in mortgage applications,” Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial, said in a statement.
Another reason homeowners should pay off the mortgage as fast as possible. Once free of that $1200-$1800 monthly expense, the government support programs could crater, and most people could live off $15-20,000 a year which is what many people who don’t plan for retirement get in social security. The banks nor the government won’t tell you, but if you have a 30-year mortgage and make just one extra payment on your mortgage each year you pay it off in 15 years and get 15 years of freedom from the debt. Being free of debt obviously is NOT part of the Democrat or Washington establishment equation for financial integrity, but debt is used for control of the American middle class to serve the political establishment in political perpetuity. Once you pay off the mortgage who cares whether the price of your home goes up or down, and the government loses just one more created leverage of control over your lives, ,,, like the AFFORDBLE care act that is nothing like affordable.
The Govt hates us being debt free.