December 2022 MBS Highway Housing Index

Earlier this month, MBS Highway surveyed roughly 3,000 mortgage and real estate professionals around the country regarding current housing market conditions. The results for the December 2022 release showed that there was an increase in activity from November to December, with 23% of respondents saying that their market is still “steady to very active” versus 19% last month. However, this figure is still well below the 41% reported just three months ago in September.

In terms of pricing pressure, 2% of those surveyed are still seeing “moderate to significant” price increases versus 4% in November. While 78% are seeing some degree of price reductions, matching last month’s figure, respondents once again noted that many of these are listing prices that are coming down to more appropriate levels and not home value declines.

Regarding the pace of sales this month, 36% are seeing normal levels with homes selling near the asking price (just below the 37% in November), while 5% reported that the pace of sales remained rapid with multiple offers (again just below last month’s reading of 6%). The number of respondents reporting a slower pace of sales with price reductions rose to 60% in December, up from 57% in November. This number has risen steadily over the last several months, when it was at just 45% in September.

Regional Highlights

The percentage of respondents describing their markets as steady to very active moved below 35% across all regions in December. Respondents were much more likely to describe buyer activity in their markets as “somewhat slow” or “very slow” this month, including 69% in the Mid-Atlantic, 76% in the Southeast,77% in the West, 78% in the Southwest, 80% in the Northeast, 82% in the Midwest and 84% in the Northwest.

Moderate to significant price reductions were seen more in the Western part of the country, as noted by 84% in the West, 88% in the Northwest and 90% of respondents in the Southwest.

A normal to rapid sales pace with homes selling either near asking price or quickly with multiple offers remained the norm in much of the middle and Eastern parts of the country, with 52% in the Midwest, 78% in the Northeast and 82% in the Mid-Atlantic describing their markets in this manner. However, the Southeast fell below 50%for the first time this year, with just 46% of respondents replying as such.