New Home SalesCENSUS
666K
U.S. Housing Market · 2023
U.S. Housing Market in 2023
rate-lock8% mortgages briefly1995 sales low
Existing SalesNAR
4.09M
Median PriceNAR
$389,800
30Y MortgagePMMS
6.81%
2023 was the rate-lock year. Existing-home sales fell to 4.09 million — the lowest reading since 1995 — as 30-year mortgage rates briefly touched 8% in October.
The lock-in effect dominated. By year-end, 76% of homeowners with mortgages held loans below 5%, and 40% held loans below 3%. The arithmetic was punishing: a household with a $400K mortgage at 3% paying $1,686/month would face a $2,927/month payment refinancing at 7.5% — a 74% jump for the same balance. The market simply stopped trading. Prices held steady (median: $389,800, +0.9% YoY) on the small volume that did clear.