Housing affordability continues to be a major concern across the United States.

ATTOM Data Solution’s Q3 2023 US Home Affordability Report shows that median single-family and condo unit prices in Q3 were less affordable than historic averages in 99% of counties nationwide.

Moreover, with interest rates hovering around 8%, ‘major home expenses’ now take up 35% of the average national wage. This figure is well above the 28% affordability standard used by lenders across the industry, and is the highest percentage since 2007.

Interest rates continued to climb last week, marking seven straight weeks of increase. At 7.9% for a 30-year fixed interest loan, interest rates reached the highest they’ve been since September 2000. Consequently, new mortgage applications have reached a 28-year low, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Reserve is slated to meet on November 1 to decide interest rate policy. It is expected to maintain interest rates at its current level.

“We don’t expect additional Fed rate hikes this year — we think they will pause into next year, and we expect there to be a first rate cut sometime probably toward around the second quarter,” noted Matt Vance, senior director and Americas head of multifamily research for real estate company CBRE.

The market has slowed considerably under the burden of interest rates. Here in Huntsville, a report from the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors (HAAR), dated for the week ended October 14, 2023, shows how the market has reacted.

According to the report, new listings of single-family units in the Huntsville/Madison County market have declined by 2.1% that week, while pending sales decreased by 17.7%. Pending sales of condo units remained flat, while new listings of condos increased by 66.7%. However, since condo units remain such a small percentage of the Huntsville/Madison County market, that still only brings the total number of newly-listed condo units up to 20 for that week.

Also of interest is a Federal class-action antitrust lawsuit being argued in Illinois, Moehrl Vs National Realtors Association. There’s a lot of complicated legal arguments around it, but the important thing to note for now is that, depending on the verdict, there may be new rules around how brokers are compensated, and by whom, when real estate deals are made. This is a case worth tracking as new developments arise, but for now, it’s a future issue for would-be buyers and sellers.

It could be possible to shave a few grand off the final price of a house by “going cowboy,” as it were, but with the amount of money and legal paperwork involved in buying and selling real estate, the services of a reliable, certified-competent and ethically professional agent, backed by an overarching organizational structure, can be well worth the commission.

As always, the Huntsville Business Journal’s Real Estate Update will continue to report on developments in the real estate market, both local and national, as they occur.

The Huntsville Business Journal would like to take this opportunity to reiterate its strong recommendation for readers to consult professional, certified realtors when buying or selling real estate. The National Association of Realtors holds its members to professional standards of practice and a code of conduct, investing in training courses for its members and mandating members take ethics courses every three years.