STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The real estate market across the country is in transition due to rising inflation, low inventory, and increased mortgage interest rates that have combined to cause a slowdown in the U.S. housing market. To help quell inflation, which reached 8.6 percent as of last measure in May, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point in June, the largest interest rate hike since 1994.

Higher prices, coupled with 30-year fixed mortgage rates approaching 6 percent, have exacerbated affordability challenges and cooled demand, with home sales and mortgage applications falling sharply from a year ago.

According to a newly released report from the Staten Island Board of Realtors® (SIBOR), new listings on Staten Island homes in June decreased 15.5 percent to 612, as compared to the same month last year; pending sales were down 27 percent to 379; and inventory levels fell 22.3 percent to 1,440 units.

“We are seeing many of the key market statistics looking more like the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, which might be good for the market in the long term,” said Sandy Krueger, CEO of SIBOR. “Affordability has been the principal victim over the last two years and that is still a large problem, particularly for those who are trying to enter the market.”

Prices of Staten Island homes continued to gain traction in June with the median sales price increasing 13.2 percent to $685,000, in contrast to $605,000 in June 2021.

The number of days on market until sale statistic was down 33.9 percent to 53 days. Sellers were encouraged as months supply of inventory was down 9.7 percent to 3.4 months, compared to a year ago.

With monthly mortgage payments up more than 50 percent compared to this time last year, the rising costs of homeownership have sidelined many prospective buyers.

Nationally, the median sales price of existing homes recently exceeded $400,000 for the first time ever, a 15 percent increase from the same period a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

As existing home sales continue to soften nationwide, housing supply is slowly improving, with inventory up for the second straight month. In time, price growth is expected to moderate as supply grows; for now, however, inventory remains low, and buyers are feeling the squeeze of higher prices all around.

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Media Contact: Barton Horowitz, Relevant Public Relations, LLC

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