Monthly mortgage payments were up nearly 20% from 2022 during the four weeks ended July 30, according to a new Redfin report.

The monthly mortgage payment for that period was $2,605, up 19% from last year, but down 1% from the record high hit earlier in July. 

Elevated mortgage rates continue to contribute to the historically high monthly payments, as well as increased home sale prices.

Thirty-year mortgage rates were 6.9% in the week ended Aug. 3, up slightly from the week before but slightly lower than the half-year high reached three weeks earlier. The daily average on Aug. 3 was 7.2%. 

With inventory unable to meet demand, July’s median home sale price rose 3.2% to $380,250, the largest increase since last November. Meanwhile, the median asking price of newly listed homes was up 1.7% from last year to $387,223.

The report attributed the increase in home prices to a mismatch between supply and demand. Would-be sellers are being pushed out of the market due to high mortgage rates, preferring to hang on to their lower-priced existing loans. 

The number of homes for sale was down 19%, the biggest drop in a year and a half. New listings were also down, falling 21.3% from last year, but despite the substantial decline, it was the smallest in three months, according to the report. 

Despite higher prices and limited inventory, homebuyer demand is still high, down just 4% from last year. 

During the week ended July 29, Redfin found Google searches for “homes for sale” were flat from the previous month but down 16% from last year.