Buy now, or wait? That’s the question prospective homeowners struggled to answer throughout 2024, as home prices skyrocketed and the Federal Reserve’s work to tame inflation sent mortgage rates soaring.
The combination has led many would-be buyers to pick the “wait” side of the equation. The median sale price of an existing home in the U.S. hit an all-time-high of $426,900 in June 2024, and while it has dipped a bit since due to seasonality, February’s median of $398,100 was still the highest-priced February ever, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). And, according to the February Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index, more than three-quarters of consumers — 76% — believe it’s a bad time to buy a house.