Mortgage rates below 6% will entice 'droves of' homebuyers

US existing home sales grew 1.3% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million units that were in line with expectations, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen joins Wealth! to give insight into the housing market and what homebuyers can expect moving forward.

"These July numbers are a bit more back to balance. That said, Zillow's data that captures things like competition between buyers and sellers... how many listings have a price cut, how fast homes sell, or even how many people we see searching Zillow relative to the number of listings available... that return of inventory coming back up slowly... shows that there's lessening of competition in the housing market," Olsen says. "So maybe a better opportunity for buyers, particularly in the South."

When asked about how to see the US market truly bounce back, she believes mortgage rates would have to hit below 6% to entice "droves of buyers" back in. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages to 6.46% from 6.49% last week, according to the latest Freddie Mac report.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth!

This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

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