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Three new data reports have reaffirmed the new normal in housing: sales activity remains in decline while home prices continue to rise.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) determined that home price gains occurred in nearly 60% of major metro markets (128 out of 221) during the second quarter, while about two in five markets (41%; 90 of 221) experienced home price declines.

NAR noted that housing affordability worsened from the first-to-second quarter due to rising home prices and mortgage rates, with the monthly mortgage payment on a typical existing single-family home with a 20% down payment at $2,051, up 10% from the first quarter ($1,864) and up 11.6% – or $214 – from one year ago. A family needed a qualifying income of at least $100,000 to afford a 10% down payment mortgage in 40.3% of markets, up from 33% in the prior quarter.

“Home sales were down due to higher mortgage rates and limited inventory,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Affordability challenges are easing due to moderating and, in some cases, falling home prices, while the number of jobs and incomes are increasing.”

NAR recorded the national median single-family existing-home price at $402,600, down 2.4% from one year ago. However, Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN) reported the median home sale price was $381,225, for the four weeks ending Aug. 6, up 3% from a year earlier for the biggest increase since November. The median asking price of newly listed homes was $386,748, up 2.5% from a year earlier.

Redfin found year-over-year sale prices increased the most in Miami (12.6%), Milwaukee (12.1%), West Palm Beach (9.2%), Cincinnati (8.9%) and San Diego (8.6%). Year-over-year price declines occurred in 12 of the 50 metros tracked by Redfin, with the biggest drops in Austin (-10.6%), San Francisco (-6.3%), Phoenix (-3.6%), Fort Worth (-3%) and Las Vegas (-2.6%).

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Redfin also noted pending home sales were down 13.2% year over year, continuing a 15-month streak of double-digit declines. Sales were down in all but three of the 50 metros tracked for Redfin’s data report, while new listings of homes for sale fell 16.5% year-over-year.

Separately, the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) data showed 40.5% of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of April and end of June were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $96,300. This is down from 45.6% posted in the first quarter of this year and the second-lowest reading since NAHB began tracking affordability on a consistent basis in 2012.

The HOI determined the national median home price increased to $388,000 in the second quarter, up from $365,000 in the previous quarter.

“While builders continue to face a number of affordability challenges, including a shortage of distribution transformers, elevated construction costs and a lack of skilled workers, they remain cautiously optimistic about market conditions,” said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, a custom home builder and developer from Birmingham, Alabama. “A lack of existing inventory is fueling demand for new construction, and mortgage rates are expected to stabilize in the weeks and months ahead as the Federal Reserve nears the end of its tightening cycle.”

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