According to Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 6.9% in the week ending August 3 from 6.81% the week before. (Last year at this time, rates hovered at a much friendlier 4.99 per cent).

In addition, the median home listing price also rose in the week ending 29 July compared to the same week last year.

So, despite some faintly positive economic news - namely, increases in both gross domestic product and payroll data - "the housing market is far from fully healed," said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®, in her analysis of the latest housing data." Home sales in 2023 are still on pace to be the lowest annual sales volume in more than a decade, and the market is not in a slump, with home vacancy rates at record lows."

However, these lows aren't stopping some intrepid homebuyers from putting in an offer on a home - the competition may even be heating up.

What does this mean for homebuyers and home sellers? We'll take a look in the new issue of "How's the Housing Market This Week?" in which we analyse the latest real estate statistics.

Lately, there's no gold that can't be kept in the real estate market.

There was a welcome retreat in home price gains throughout July, with the median listing price of $440,000 down 0.9% from the same time last year (it was originally priced at $443,900).

However, after seven consecutive weeks of median home prices at or below year-ago levels, the week ending July 29 saw a 0.2% year-over-year increase.

While no homebuyer wants to see list prices head all the way north, the increase isn't enough to cause panic like it did when home prices broke records last year.

"We're not predicting a new peak in home prices in 2023, nor will we surpass the $449,000 record set in June 2022," explains Hale.

New listings have been down for a long time, now down 56 weeks, and homebuyers may now be used to stale inventory.

New listings just coming on the market for the week ending 29 July were down 17% compared to the same week last year. Active inventory (a mix of old and new listings) was also down, with the total number of homes for sale down 9 percent from the same week last year.

This week marks the sixth consecutive week that the number of active homes for sale has declined compared to the same time last year, and the gap is widening, Hale said.

In terms of inventory levels, she continued, we expect overall inventory levels in 2023 to be down 5 percent from 2022.

Stingy, pricey listings are also slowing the rush of homebuyers: the number of days a home was on the market in the week ending 29 July increased by eight days compared to the same week last year. The median days on the market has increased for 54 consecutive weeks.

Nevertheless, Hale notes that many homebuyers are not discouraged. The data suggests that "homebuyers are looking."

The upshot is that this more sluggish sales pace (which, by the way, is still shorter than it was prior to COVID-19) may not last long.

Hale notes, "As we head into the 2022 housing slowdown, this gap could continue to narrow, and by the autumn, we could even see homes selling at a faster pace than a year ago." If that happens, it could indicate that the market is finding a new normal where homes stay on the market less than before the pandemic but longer than was common at the height of the housing frenzy."

And buyers who are eager to find a workaround for their dusty listings can always turn to new construction.

New home sales continue to climb from their lows a year ago, Hale said.