“We continue to see a tale of two economies in the data: strong job and wage growth are keeping consumers’ balance sheets positive, while lingering inflation, recession fears and housing affordability are driving housing demand down precipitously,” Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage investor, wrote in its release.

Other highlights from the association’s September home sales report, which includes sales from Polk, Dallas, Warren, Jasper, Marion, Madison and Guthrie counties, include:

• 2,880 homes were listed for sale, the most since May 2020 when there were 3,068 listings. The low supply of homes for sale in recent months contributed to higher sale prices, real estate agents have said. In August, 2,669 homes were listed for sale.
• 34 days was the average number of days for residences to sell. In August, homes were sold in an average of 24 days.
• $275,000 was the median sale price of a residence sold in September, 3% higher than August’s $268,250. In September 2021, the median sale price was $265,000.
• 17 homes sold in September were priced at $1 million or higher. In September 2021, five homes that were sold were priced at $1 million or higher.