Real Estate - Agencies
U.S. home price data showed a notable decline, with home sales totaling 4.71 million units last September, down from the previous month, when 4.78 million homes were sold in August, indicating a slowdown in the U.S. real estate market, which is caught between the anvil of rising inflation and the hammer of the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. home price index showed a sharp decline that exceeded market expectations for the third consecutive month, recording -0.7% on a month-over-month basis in August, compared to the previous reading of -0.6%.
Meanwhile, the Home Price Index for August recorded a year-over-year decline from the previous month, reaching 11.9%, compared to the previous reading of 13.9%.
In the same vein, the housing market—one of the most interest-rate-sensitive segments of the economy—has deteriorated rapidly this year as the Federal Reserve tightens its policy to curb inflation. Separate data released on Tuesday showed that a measure of home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fell 1.3% in August on a month-over-month basis, the largest decline since March 2009.
