October 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 October 2022 release showed that there has certainly been a slowdown in activity and pricing pressure in recent months, with only29% of respondents saying that their market is still “steady to very active” This is compared to 41% of respondents in September and 53% in August.

In terms of pricing pressure, 5% of those surveyed are still seeing “moderate to significant” price increases versus 10% in September and 16% in August. While 74% are seeing some degree of price reductions (as compared to 68% in September and 58% in August),respondents 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, 40% are seeing normal levels with homes selling near the asking price (just below the 43% in September and 45% in August), while 6% reported that the pace of sales remained rapid with multiple offers (versus 12%in September and 20% in August). The number of respondents reporting a slower pace of sales with price reductions rose to 53% in October, up from 45% in September and 35% in August.

Regional Highlights

The percentage of respondents describing their markets as steady to very active remained below 50% across all regions in October. Respondents were more likely to describe buyer activity in their markets as “somewhat slow” or “very slow” this month, including 54% in the Northeast, 69% in the Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, 74% in the West and Northwest, and 75% in the Southwest.

Moderate to significant price reductions were seen more in the Western part of the country, as noted by 85% of respondents in the West and Southwest and 86% in the Northwest.

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 57% of respondents in the Southeast, 67% in the Midwest, 71% in the Mid-Atlantic and 78% in the Northeast describing their markets in this manner. However, once again these figures have decreased from August and September.