Home Price Declines Moderated in September, Thanks to Temporary Mortgage Rate Relief (September 2022 Market Report Preview)

• The typical U.S. home value was unchanged in September from August, likely reflecting a response to a late-summer drop in mortgage rates. Rates have since surged higher, which will likely dampen demand this fall and place more downward pressure on prices.
• Home values continued to tumble, though, in many formerly-hot markets, including Phoenix (-2.3%), Las Vegas (-1.9%), New Orleans (-1.0%), Riverside (-0.9%) and Austin (-0.9%)
• Active inventory climbed to 3% above year-ago levels, but remains far below pre-pandemic norms. 
• The flow of new for-sale listings coming on the market remained anemic, down 16.2% from last year, much like August’s 16.5% year-over-year decline.
• The number of newly pending listings in September dropped a whopping 29.3% compared to last September, in part because of a sharp deceleration in activity at the end of the month.
• Rent growth fell to 0.3% month-over-month, the lowest monthly growth rate since January 2021, and 10.8% year-over-year

Note: Beginning this month, Zillow’s Economic Research team will be sharing a preview of our monthly market data, offering a first look at the previous month’s key housing metrics. More detail will be included later in the month in our standard full-length Monthly Market Report.