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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 76 September 2025 J O U R N A L a more balanced market is emerging, creating opportunities for those with the patience and flexibility to adapt." Despite approximately 21 straight months of increased inventory, home sales are still close to multi-decade lows. This summer alone (May 2025–July 2025), inventory has increased by an estimated 28%, surpassing one million homes for three consecutive months and hitting its highest levels since November 2019. In many areas, prices have leveled out, but high mortgage rates and eco- nomic uncertainty are deterring buyers and sellers. According to the survey, all parties involved are retreating, which is causing the housing market to be char- acterized more by a collective stop than by a housing crisis. Home Costs, Mortgage Rates Hindering Buyers Nationwide Affordability remains a significant barrier for home purchasers. Although mortgage rates have increased, resulting in noticeably higher monthly payments, the national median list price is still close to $440,000, essentially unchanged from 2022. Today's purchasers are paying more than $1,200 more a month for the median-priced home than they did in 2019, as a result of increased interest rates and price growth. Incomes have climbed, but they hav- en't kept up with the rising cost of home ownership. The "double whammy" of high rates and residual price appreci- ation has kept buying power low and excluded many potential buyers, even in places where prices have dropped. Only 28.0% of properties on the market were priced within the means of the average household, which makes an estimated $78,770 per year, according to Realtor. com's most recent Buying Power Report. Additionally, sellers are negotiating in a challenging environment. Many homeowners are still hesitant to cut rates, even when demand has decreased. Rather than compromise on the price they have in mind, many are opting to completely delist their homes. In June 2025, the delisting-to-new listing ratio increased from 0.13 in May to 0.21, mean- ing that 21 new listings were withdrawn without a sale for every 100. The ratio was considerably greater in some metro areas, like Miami, where there were 59 delistings for every 100 new listings. The pace of inventory expansion is being slowed by this dynamic, as well as a recent decline in new listings. The reluctance of sellers to modify their prices is causing transactions to stall and maintaining high prices, which exacer- bates affordability problems. The pressure is also being felt by home builders. Permits are declining, the pipeline of new building is getting smaller, and single-family home con- struction is declining. Permits increased by 0.2% month over month in June 2025, although they were 4.4% less than in June of the previous year. Despite a 4.6% increase from May 2025, starts were still less than those in June 2024 (-0.5%). Housing developers have been more cautious due to factors like high financ- ing prices, low customer demand, and new building material tariffs. The nation still lacks an estimated four million dwellings at the time of this reversal. Although builders are still necessary to bridge the long-term supply gap, the present climate is making it more diffi- cult to defend new projects.