02:42 PM EDT, 05/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US home prices soared to their highest level on record last month as rising mortgage rates pulled some sellers and buyers off the market, while rents posted their first annual increase in 12 months, according to data published by Redfin (RDFN) on Friday.

The median US home sale price climbed 6.2% year over year in April to $433,558, the highest level on record. New listings were up 1.7% sequentially on a seasonally adjusted basis and were up nearly 11% compared with April 2023, which was the lowest for new listings on record. Listings remained 20% below pre-pandemic levels overall, the report showed.

Home sales were little changed from March to April and dipped 1.4% year over year. Nearly 18% of homes for sale last month had a price cut, up 5.6 percentage points from the year earlier and the biggest increase in more than a year, the real estate brokerage said.

The muted performance occurred amid an affordability crunch that was further impacted by upwardly moving mortgage rates. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.99% last month, pushing above 7% in the second half of April, according to Freddie Mac data.

"It's not all bad news for homebuyers. Mortgage rates are already inching lower in response to this week's inflation report, which signaled that the (Federal Reserve) may cut interest rates this summer -- a possibility that just weeks ago many thought was off the table," said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao.

Consumer inflation advanced a softer-than-expected 0.3% rate sequentially in April, while annual inflation slowed to 3.4% from 3.5% month over month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Market projections for a September first rate cut by the Fed were at 50% on Friday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

US rents, meanwhile, notched their first year-over-year nationwide increase in 12 months in April, a separate Redfin report showed. The median asking rent edged up 1.1% to $1,648 last month. Rents were up 1.7% from March.

Rents rose fastest in the Midwest, with Minneapolis' asking rents jumping 10% year over year in April, the biggest increase among the metros analyzed by Redfin. Other high-single-digit increases occurred in Cincinnati, Chicago and New York.

Price: 7.48, Change: -0.17, Percent Change: -2.22