House prices, however, continued to rise, marking the 130th consecutive month for price gains, the longest streak on record, the National Association of REALTORS® said.   

More buyers have entered the market in the past four weeks as mortgage rates fell.

The increase in builder confidence breaks a string of 12 straight monthly declines in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. 

Redfin attributes the drop to the record high mortgage rates, recession concerns, record low inventory, extreme winter weather and the holiday slowdown. 

Home prices in the Northwest MLS footprint dropped on an annual basis for the first time since March 2012, the service’s December data showed.

Seattle was rated one of the most affordable cities for singles in a recent analysis that examined average salaries and median rents.

Seattle had the second-biggest jump in concessions.

Geographically, the largest home-price increases took place in the Southeast, led by Florida (18%), South Carolina (13.9%) and Georgia (13.6%), CoreLogic reported, citing its November Home Price Insights report.    

Homes linger on market longer as buyers take their time.

Seattle was named a top 25 U.S. metro area on the Financial Health Index, released this month by TheCreditReview. The index examined major U.S. metro areas for municipal, business and resident financial health, calculating municipal revenue to debt ratio, new business

Regionally, the pending-sales index fell 7.9% month over month in the Northeast, 6.6% in the Midwest, 2.3% in the South and 0.9% in the West. 

At the same time, the median sales price of a new house slid to $471,200 from $484,700 in October and $430,300 a year earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported. 

The month-over-month decline in sales came as prices rose for the 129th consecutive month, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

New-home permits fell 11.2% month over month, while housing completions jumped 10.8% in what one observer said could have “worrisome” long-term consequences for the nation’s housing supply. 

Current real estate market conditions have not discouraged buyers from their plans of homeownership, according to a new survey from RE/MAX.

The 30-year fixed-rate inched to 6.42%, which is still close to the lowest rate in a month, the group said.