The rise in mortgage rates last year froze the housing market, resulting in the greatest yearly decline in sales of previously owned homes in more than a decade.

The US housing collapse has now entered its fifth month, with a measure of prices down 2.5% from their peak in June.

According to S&P CoreLogic Case-seasonally Shiller’s adjusted national pricing statistics, prices declined 0.3% in November compared to the previous month.

The rise in mortgage rates last year froze the housing market, resulting in the greatest yearly drop in sales of previously owned homes in more than a decade.

This has put downward pressure on costs, particularly in areas of the country like San Francisco, where affordability was already stretched. Prices in that California city fell 1.6% year on year, the city’s biggest year-over-year price drop in more than a decade.

Prices are still higher than a year ago, as homeowners reap the benefits of a protracted housing boom that surpassed records in many places in the United States. Growth, on the other hand, has slowed. Prices rose 7.7% year on year in November, down from 9.2% in October.

Borrowing prices have fallen in recent weeks, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling to 6.13% in late January, according to Freddie Mac. Redfin Corp., a brokerage and analytics company, has pointed to signals that buyer interest may be returning, with pending deals increasing in December and other indicators of demand rising.

Realtor.com Senior Economist George Ratiu observed that since November, the housing market has adjusted, with an increase in the number of homes for sale and a further slowing of price increases.

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