The pace of new-home sales hit an annual rate of 800,000, its highest level since January 2022. 

Fannie Mae also reduced its forecasts for home sales in 2025 and 2026. 

The slower sales pace was accompanied by more days on market for Chicagoland homes, Mainstreet REALTORS® said. 

The decline in sales came as a 17-month run of year-over-year increases in new listings came to a close.

The move was widely anticipated and is expected to be followed by additional cuts this year. 

The jump in mortgage activity was driven in large part by refinancings, which surged 58% in the week ended Sept. 12. 

At the same time, completions of new single-family homes were on the rise last month, according to federal statistics. 

The National Association of Home Builders said its monthly builder-confidence survey indicated rising optimism that lower interest rates could spur new-home buying activity. 

The surge comes as the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to its lowest level since October 2024. 

The rate of home-price appreciation slowed to just over half the rate of inflation in July, Cotality noted. 

Despite the decrease in borrowing costs, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Market Composite Index showed a decrease in mortgage applications in the week ended Aug. 29. 

Signed contracts declined despite lower interest rates and improved affordability and inventory, the National Association of REALTORS® said.   

The pace of home-price appreciation declined to its slowest pace in two years, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. 

Nationally, home sales rose 0.6% year over year but slid 0.7% month over month, RE/MAX said. 

The upside surprise came despite monthly and yearly declines in the pace of sales. 

The association said the housing market is making a definitive swing back in the direction of the buyer thanks to wage growth, slowing home-price gains and rising inventory.