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By Kerry Smith<\/div><\/div>\n

The end of forbearance programs and foreclosure moratoriums enticed more at-risk homeowners in lower-cost homes to sell and cash out their higher equity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

SEATTLE \u2013 Sales of the most affordable homes in the U.S. rose 11.3% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a new report<\/a> from Redfin. At the same time, the inventory of for-sale homes in that tier also rose, likely because the end of pandemic-driven mortgage forbearance and foreclosure moratorium policies encouraged more of these owners to sell.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe market for homes at lower price points is booming for a few reasons. Not only is there demand from workers who are now earning higher wages, but investors, who have an appetite for lower-priced homes, are buying up properties at record rates,\u201d says Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. \u201cWith the end of both mortgage forbearance and the foreclosure moratorium, many homeowners who don\u2019t have much cash in the bank are choosing to sell their homes to clear their mortgage debt, providing plenty of supply to meet the high demand.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For luxury homes, a big year-over-year sales drop is partly due to a surge during the fourth quarter of 2020, when affluent Americans took advantage of low mortgage rates and remote work to buy high-end homes. Sales are also constrained by a lack of supply. Luxury sales remain elevated above pre-pandemic levels \u2013 up by nearly 27% from the last quarter of 2019 to the last quarter of 2021 \u2013 but the initial pandemic-driven frenzy for high-end homes has slowed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to the study, the number of luxury listings (median price of $1,038,200) in the fourth quarter of 2021 was down 16.3% year-to-year. However, the number of listings in the lowest tier of \u201cmost affordable\u201d rose 18.6% (median $127,500).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While the number of listings in the \u201caffordable\u201d category dropped 1.9% (median $215,600), it\u2019s still smaller than the listing drop of 10.8% for \u201cmid-priced\u201d homes ($310,000) and 14.7% for \u201cexpensive\u201d homes (median $470,000).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Still, at 22 days, mid-priced homes spent less time on the market. The most affordable homes spent 28 days, affordable homes spent 24 days, expensive homes spent 26 days and luxury homes were on the market for 39 days.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome experts were worried the end of forbearance would cause a glut of housing supply and eventually lead to a housing-market crash, but there\u2019s plenty of demand to snap up the inventory,\u201d Fairweather says. \u201cThe fact that both supply and sales of the most affordable homes shot up at the end of 2021 is solid evidence of that.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2022 Florida Realtors\u00ae<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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\nAuthor: kerrys<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"