Are home prices finally dropping? They just might be

Taking a dip

Home prices finally appear to be on the downturn – at least slightly. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average price of an existing home dropped to $247,000 in October.

A move in the right direction

Since June – when prices hit their 2017 high of $263,300, existing home prices have fallen more than $16,000. And though NAR’s data shows prices dipped less than a full percent last month, even the smallest downtick can mean good news for buyers – especially in today’s competitive marketplace.

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“As cash-strapped would-be buyers are well aware, every little bit helps,” NAR reported.

Existing home prices fell in every region of the country except the West, where they inched up just 0.48 percent. The South saw the biggest price drop, with a decrease of 1.1 percent since September.

Leveraging lower prices

It seems buyers may be taking advantage of the lower prices, too. NAR’s data shows home sales rose 2 percent from September to October. Monthly closings were also up for the month, though both the South and Midwest saw downturns of 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Still, it’s no cause for alarm, NAR says.

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“The slight drop in the South may be due to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which hammered the Houston area and much of Florida and paused many sales temporarily,” according to NAR.

Lower prices aside, according to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, a better employment market is also helping matters.

“Job growth is starting to slowly push up wages, which is, in turn, giving households added assurance that now is a good time to buy a home,” Yun said.

Get today’s rates

There’s no telling if prices will continue on their current downturn. Want to take advantage of lower prices while you can? Shop around for the best mortgage rate today.