According to a report from Realtor.com, in October, the monthly financing cost for purchasing a typical home increased by $166 compared to the same period last year, reaching 80%. This data marks the highest record since 2016.

Specifically, homebuyers now need to pay $2,405 per month to own their own house. To afford such mortgage expenses, homebuyers would need an annual income of $119,500, nearly double the median actual household income of $64,240. In other words, the typical American's income is only half of what is required to purchase a home.

However, the high mortgage rates are not the only factor causing tension in the real estate market. Despite the rise in mortgage rates, house prices have not seen significant changes, with the median listing price remaining stable at around $425,000 in October, almost unchanged compared to the same period last year. This is primarily due to the shortage of housing supply, leading to continuous price increases.

According to Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, "List prices have been rising due to scarce inventory." Meanwhile, the number of newly listed homes and homes for sale is also decreasing.

Compared to the same period last year, the total number of homes for sale in October decreased by 2%. While this percentage may seem small, the scarcity of housing is striking compared to pre-pandemic levels from 2017 to 2019, during which the number of homes for sale increased by 42.4%.

In addition, the number of newly listed properties in October decreased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year.

Faced with the shortage of supply, more and more homebuyers are turning to the purchase of newly built homes. Hale pointed out that "new home sales have been increasing," but construction activity is still not enough to bridge the supply-demand gap.

Regarding the future trends of the real estate market, Hale stated, "This is a trillion-dollar question." She expects that it will take a considerable amount of time for homebuyers to see a substantial increase in the number of newly listed homes and homes for sale. This lag is primarily due to sellers who believe their homes are "locked in" by the lower mortgage rates from a few years ago.

During the low-rate period, many homeowners either purchased their own homes or refinanced, so their homes may still be very suitable for their needs and relatively affordable, especially considering the current mortgage rates.

However, despite the troubles brought to homebuyers by the rise in mortgage rates, increasing home prices, and supply shortages, they still need to act relatively quickly.

According to data, the average time a house stays on the market has decreased by one day, from 51 days last year to 50 days now. Compared to October from 2017 to 2019, the average time each household spends on the market has decreased by 16 days.

Although the approach of the holiday season usually leads to an extension of the time on the market, the rate of increase in time on the market this year is slower than usual for the fall. This is because the supply is still limited, prompting homebuyers to act swiftly, with a greater proportion of newly listed homes in low inventory.