From rates to inventory, here's where the US housing market stands in 4 charts

• Mortgage rates are sitting just shy of 8%, the highest they've been in over 20 years.
• Home prices have ticked up, with the median sale price at $431,000, up 35% since 2019.

The US housing market is in a tough spot.

With mortgage rates the highest in decades and inventory levels lagging historical norms, buyers and sellers are still struggling to navigate the market after an already difficult 2023.

From rates, to inventory, to sale prices, here are four charts that show the state of the US housing market in the final quarter of the year.

Mortgage rates

Mortgage rates have surged and are sticking close to 8%, the highest they've been in over two decades. That's kept many potential homebuyers on the sidelines, while keeping prospective sellers from listing their homes to avoid giving up lower rates they locked in years ago.

Mortgage rates are influenced by Treasury yields, which are influenced by the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. As the market in October adjusted to the Fed's outlook of higher for longer interest rates, benchmark bond yields spiked, helping to boost the 30-year mortgage to its eye-watering level of 8% it's currently hovering at today. According to Bankrate, the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage on Thursday was 8.02%.

Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that mortgage applications fell are near three-decade lows.

Home prices

Home prices soared during the pandemic and have continued to edge higher after a brief period of declines. The median home sale price today is about $431,000. That's 35% higher than it was in the third quarter of 2019, when the median price for a home sold in the US was $318,400.

Housing affordability has plunged so low, that Americans need to earn $115,000 in order to afford a median-priced US home, a Redfin report earlier this month said. That's compared to $75,000 needed in 2020.

On Wednesday, LPL Financial highlighted that housing affordability hit its lowest level since 1985 when mortgage rates were in the double digits.

Housing inventory

At the intersection of high mortgage rates and sky-high prices is a frozen housing market.

People who want to list their home probably took out a mortgage or refinanced an existing mortgage when interest rates were at historic lows. That means that similar to buyers, people willing to sell are holding out for mortgage rates to drop in order to avoid having to finance a new home at a higher rate.

Goldman Sachs said in a note Wednesday that inventory has fallen to the lowest level in 40 years.

Home sales

All of this combined means that home sales have plunged.

Conditions are so tight right now that the balance has actually shifted in favor of buyers, who have more leverage to get the best possible deal amid a dearth of sales activity. Homebuyers are backing out of deals at the fastest pace in a year.

Monthly pending home sales that fell out of a contract in September notched 16.6%, the highest since October 2022.