Housing prices were down in all 20 cities tracked by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index.

New-home sales rose 7.5% month over month, while the median price of a new house surged to $493,000 from $455,700 in September and $427,300 a year ago, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.   

That wasn’t the only good news as the end of the month neared.

If inflation continues to cool, the historic slowdown could ease.

The pace of new single-family home sales, meanwhile, fell 6.1% from September to 598,000. 

The median existing-home price rose for the 128th month in a row, extending its record-breaking streak of increases. 

Mid-week price cuts offer the most bargains in today’s market.

The number of homes under construction rose during the month, as homebuilders continued to work through a large backlog of homes. 

The largest single-week decline in conventional mortgage rates since July brought the first increase in home-loan applications since September, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. 

It’s not the only metric decelerating in today’s market. Inflation is also starting to slow which is helping bring down mortgage rates.

From dropping home prices, increased inventory and homes staying on the market longer, today’s buyers should look at the upside to what the market means for their prospects.

Homebuyer demand is starting to stabilize as October home sales posted the largest decline since 2015, according to a new report.

The median age of inventory in Chicago is 57 days, down from 81 before the pandemic began.

Looking ahead, CoreLogic expects national year-over-year appreciation to slow to 3.9% by September 2023. 

September is the fourth month in a row to see declining sales activity. 

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.08% this week from 6.94% a week ago, Freddie Mac reported. A year ago, the average mortgage carried a 3.14% rate.