In some markets, the numbers are cartoonish. The city of Punta Gorda, Florida—a gulf coast suburb with a population of around 20,000 about an hour’s drive north of Fort Myers—saw home prices rise almost 30% between spring of 2021 and 2022, a third more than the national average. Three states saw average price appreciation top 25% earlier this year (Florida, Arizona and Utah) and three metros in California (San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco) saw home price growth outstrip median wages by more than six figures in raw dollar amounts.

The downward trend in existing home sales held firm in April as rising price tags and mortgage rates continued to strain buyer activity, according to a new report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

Sales of previously owned homes dipped for the third consecutive month in April, sliding by 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million. Year-over-year, sales dropped 5.9%.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) decreased slightly this week, from 5.30% last week to an averaged 5.25% this week, according to latest the results of the Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), released by Freddie Mac Thursday.

Survey findings:

Mortgage applications for new home purchases decreased 10.6% compared to a year ago, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) released this week. Compared to March 2022, applications decreased by 14%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns, MBA stated.

Additional key findings:

Delta Media Group announces the launch of “Delta Pitch,” a new comparative market analysis tool that allows agents to create a complete CMA in as little as one click, the company says.

“Building a custom CMA has never been easier,” said Michael Minard, CEO and owner of Delta Media. “And because Delta Pitch fully integrates with our DeltaNET all-in-one platform, it will be easy to access for DeltaNET customers,” he added.