- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
Rising prices, interest rates cool US home sales in April
Rising prices and higher mortgage rates slowed US existing home sales for the third consecutive month in April, according to an industry survey released Thursday.
Sales fell 2.4 percent compared to March to an annual rate of 5.61 million, seasonally adjusted, which was 5.9 percent lower than April 2021, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported.
"Higher home prices and sharply higher mortgage rates have reduced buyer activity," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. "It looks like more declines are imminent in the upcoming months, and we'll likely return to the pre-pandemic home sales activity after the remarkable surge over the past two years."
Bargain borrowing rates helped fuel the strong demand for home buying during the pandemic, which has driven prices ever higher while builders have struggled to keep up due to supply backlogs for lumber and other materials amid a shortage of workers.
But the Federal Reserve has embarked on an aggressive campaign to tamp down inflation pressures by raising interest rates, which has sent mortgage costs sharply higher.
The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.98 percent in April, up from 4.17 percent in March, and far above the 2021 average of 2.96 percent, according to Freddie Mac.
The median existing-home price for all housing types jumped to $391,200, up 14.8 percent from April 2021, according to NAR. Prices have risen for 122 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record.
Slowing sales in recent months have allowed the inventory of unsold homes to recover -- at what Yun called a "sluggish pace" -- and was back to a 2.2-month supply, nearly where it was a year ago.
Single family home sales fell 2.5 percent last month, while sales of condos fell 1.6 percent, according to the survey.
Yun noted that despite rising prices, homes still do not stay on the market long, selling in an average of 17 days, and the report showed all-cash buyers accounted for more than a quarter of the sales in the month.
Nancy Vanden Houten of Oxford Economics said strong demand is likely to remain a feature of the housing market but "we expect existing home sales to lose more momentum as a sharp erosion in homebuying affordability weighs on sales."
F.Carias--PC