Home prices, rents continue to rise with inflation

(NewsNation) —What was once a housing market analysts described with a bevy of adjectives including “superheated” and “ultracompetitive” is starting to cool down as inflation takes a toll on soaring mortgage rates.

Existing home sales fell 2.4% in April from March levels and median home prices jumped 14.8% to $391,200.

In April, the weekly average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan climbed above 5% for the first time in more than a decade.

While buying a home is becoming increasingly more expensive, so, too, is renting.

The average rent in April was up to $1,800, up nearly 17% from a year ago.

Some cities in particular are seeing dramatic increases in rent. In Miami, rents have risen 52% from a year ago. Orlando and Tampa Bay have fared no better; they round out the top three cities with the highest increases in rent at 33% and 28%, respectively.

In New York, even studio apartments cost 30% more than last year.

Alcynna Lloyd, an economics reporter for Business Insider, told “NewsNation Prime” that because home ownership is getting more expensive, more people are turning to renting, causing a surge in demand that is bringing up prices.

“Right now, we’re starting to see a little cooling in the market because buyers are really struggling with affordability. As they tend to see mortgage rates tick up a little bit, more buyers are sitting this market out right now,” Lloyd said.

She said the housing market has been thrown off by an imbalance between supply and demand, where there is far more demand for homes than homes available.

“It’s creating some sort of gridlock in a sense where people are either wanting to buy homes right now but people that do have their homes right now know mortgage rates are trending higher so they’re staying put and that is also contributing to the lack of inventory we are seeing in the U.S.,” Lloyd said.