Commentary

"Understanding all the costs that come with homeownership can not only impact a buyer's budget, but the type of home they shop for, too," said Zillow home trends expert Amanda Pendleton.

"Lenders saw opportunities dwindle even more during the first quarter as the longest slowdown in mortgage activity in at least 20 years continued," said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM.

“Weakening home price growth for the past 12 months is increasing the odds that we may not see a new home price peak this year, for the first time in the history of our listing data, which dates back to mid-2016, and this is likely welcome news to homeshoppers," said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for Realtor.com.

“Affordability declined month-over-month in all of the 50 markets we track, but some markets saw a much sharper decline than others,” said First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

"High incomes and homeownership gains may overshadow the significant housing affordability challenges still faced by many AAPI households," concluded Nicole Bachaud, Senior Economist at Zillow.

“The modest increases in home prices we saw a month ago accelerated in March 2023,” says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI. “The National Composite rose by 1.3% in March, and now stands only 3.6% below its June 2022 peak.”

“Although buyers, sellers, and builders are all more optimistic about the housing market, asking home price growth is easing and the typical home sales price is slipping. These point to the nudge that buyers need to act on their improving outlook,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

“Homebuyer affordability eroded further in April, with both the typical borrower monthly payment and median purchase amount rising due to higher rates and home prices,” said Edward Seiler, MBA's Associate VP, Housing Economics, and Executive Director, Research Institute for Housing America.

Sellers gave up the most in pandemic-era boomtowns, with Tampa, Florida reporting a bigger year-over-year growth in seller concessions than in any other metropolitan area.

“Though mortgage rates are substantially higher than they have been on average over the past decade, from an historic perspective rates are about average,” Freddie Mac said.