Hurry up and buy? Home buyers race to beat rising rates, driving prices upward.
The median price of a single-family home in Greater Boston hit a record in May despite rising mortgage interest rates.
Interest rates are rising, and the number of potential homebuyers is dwindling, yet home prices surged yet again this spring in Greater Boston. But there are growing fears that potential buyers are priced out of the market, with a slowdown coming soon.
The median price of a single-family home in Greater Boston in May was $875,000, up 15.1 percent from a year prior and up from $845,000 just in April, according to a new report from the Greater Boston Association of Realtors. That’s the highest number GBAR has ever recorded, and single-family home prices have risen steadily since November 2019.
This spring’s rapid run-up in interest rates — the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has climbed more than two points since January — and the ongoing scarcity of available homes have driven prices and sales higher, at least for now, said Melvin Vieira, GBAR’s president, in a statement.
With interest rates forecast to rise even more, buyers jumped in while they still can, Vieira said, prompting a busier-than-expected spring market. Would-be buyers may be looking further afield, or lowering their price point, but supply is so tight that prices keep going up.
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