04:04 PM EDT, 05/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Monthly housing costs soared to a fresh record high in April and the start of May as mortgage rates moved back above 7% and low supply kept home prices elevated, Redfin (RDFN) said Thursday.

The US monthly housing payment climbed 14% on a year-over-year basis to $2,894 -- an all-time high -- during the four weeks ended May 5. The median sales price rose 4.5% year over year to $384,721, also a record.

New listings increased 9.3% from the same period of 2023, the smallest increase since the four weeks ended Feb. 11 with

the exception of March. "Many would-be sellers backed off when rates rose throughout April, opting to stay put to hold onto their low mortgage rate," Redfin said.

Pending sales fell 3% during the four-week period ended May 5, which ties the two previous four-week periods for the biggest decline in two months, the report showed. The share of home sellers dropping their asking price accelerated to 6.2%, the highest share since November.

"The market is a mixed bag, with high mortgage rates causing some listings to sit longer than I would expect in the springtime and high prices holding steady," said David Palmer, a Redfin Premier agent.

With mortgage rates climbing back above 7% in mid-April for the first time in about four months, however, buyers " finally understand that rates aren't going to plummet anytime soon," he said. There are plenty of motivated buyers jumping into the market that need to relocate for a variety of personal reasons.

"So even though some of my listings are taking longer to sell than they would in a typical spring market, they are selling eventually," Palmer said.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 7.09% for the week ended May 9 from 7.22% the week prior, data from Freddie Mac published Thursday showed. Encouraging economic news last week, including a soft jobs report, pushed rates lower and could provide some reprieve to buyers, according to Redfin.

Price: 7.07, Change: +0.82, Percent Change: +13.04