Despite months of growing prices and high mortgage rates, the Philadelphia-area housing market is starting to show signs of loosening, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The median home sale price in November was $355,000 in the region, which is 7.6 percent higher than the previous year. That is also a 1.4 percent increase over October.

Most counties in Greater Philadelphia, including Montgomery County, experienced single-digit increases in median home prices.

Prices have continued to go up primarily due to an inventory shortage. However, the near standstill in activity that was recorded throughout the year as both buyers and sellers continued to wait out high mortgage rates is now showing signs of loosening.

Closed sales in November were down 7.4 percent compared to the same period last year, which is a significant improvement compared to the over 20 percent declines seen for most of the year.

Pending sales were down 2.5 percent compared to last year, new listings also fell by 5.7 percent, and active listings dropped by 7.9 percent.

Overall, supply in the region is less than half of 2019 numbers.

Read more about the housing market in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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