State of the housing market: October 2023

Construction and "accidental landlords" are adding to the stock of available rental properties, which is naturally causing rental price growth to soften. The sales market has also continued to slide, with prices and listings down.

• According to Realtor.com, the national median list price fell slightly for the third month in a row, from $435,000 in August to $430,000 in September.

• The site also reports a 7.5% decrease in newly listed homes – from 387,076 in August to 357,956 in September.

• Many homeowners are choosing to rent out additional units in their properties (or vacation homes) rather than sell to avoid 8% mortgage rates. These owners, who never intended to become property investors, have been dubbed “accidental landlords”.

• According to Zumper, the national median rent for one-bedrooms is up just $1 over last month at $1,511. Two-bedroom median rent is flat at $1,864.

• Forty of Zumper’s top 100 cities saw a drop in rental prices from the previous month, while 60 reported no change.

• The National Association of Home Builders reports a builder sentiment index of 40, down another five points from September, as high mortgage rates continue to pummel the industry.

• However, single‐family housing starts in September unexpectedly reached 963,000 – 3.2% percent above the revised August figure of 933,000.

• “Despite ongoing challenges in the market, the housing deficit of resale inventory continues to provide some market support for builders,” says NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

• The declining sentiment could suggest a slowdown in new building activity in the coming months.

More rental market headlines

High rents and mortgage rates squeeze Gen Z – Axios

Single-family rentals are a 'superstar' investment – Fortune

The landlords of social media seem happy to play the villain – The New York Times