Essex County Housing Report December, 12/20/2024

Inflation trended higher for the past 3 months keeping mortgage rates high. Today’s 30 Year Mortgage Rate is 7.04% per Mortgage News Daily.

November’s 2024 Consumer Price Index Report 
12 month CPI inflation rose 2.7% and Core Inflation (all items less food and energy) rose 3.3%. The Federal Reserve’s target is 2%. November 2024 Monthly CPI rose +0.3% and Monthly Core Inflation rose +0.3%.

Price Changes and Unit Sales:

For Single Families and Condos, Year over Year Sold Prices rose modestly, but Unit Sales fell slightly. However, both Month over Month Sold Prices and Units Sales fell as mortgage rates remained high and inventory remained low.

Mortgage Rate Outlook - Follow the 10 Year Treasury Note:

Mortgage Rates tend to follow the direction of the 10 Year Treasury Note which is impacted by inflation expectations and the cost to finance our National Debt which is a record high $36 Trillion. Mortgage rates are not expected to drop much in 2025.

 To view data for every Essex County town,

• To view data for every Essex County town, http://www.sullivanteam.com/Properties/Reports/Public/Charts.php
  
  
• To Download the full housing report go to:  http://sullivanteam.com/pages/EssexCountyHousingReports

Mortgage Rate Projections for 2025

Key factors that effect rates:

1. Inflation: If inflation cools, rates could dip a bit more. On the flip side, if inflation rises or remains stubbornly high, rates may stay elevated longer.

2. Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate also plays a significant role in upcoming decisions by the Federal Reserve (the Fed). And while the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, their actions do reflect what’s happening in the greater economy, which can have an impact.

3. Government Policies: With the next administration set to take office in January, fiscal and monetary policies could also affect how financial markets respond and where rates go from here.

Excellent reason to own your own home!  Strong Price Appreciation.