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Pending home sales are down and new listings are flat during a time of year when they typically rise. But this week’s softer-than-expected inflation report sent mortgage rates down, which could bring back some homebuyers and sellers.
Pending home sales fell 4.3% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending May 12, the biggest decline in roughly three months. They also posted a week-over-week decline, unusual for early May. Inventory is losing momentum, too, as would-be sellers stay put to hang onto their low mortgage rate. New listings rose 10% year over year, but they were essentially flat from a week earlier, which is significant because listings typically increase this time of year.
The housing market slumped because of sky-high housing costs. The median U.S. home-sale price is up 4.7% year over year to a record $386,951, and the median monthly mortgage payment is sitting at $2,858, just $26 shy of the all-time high set in April. But affordability is starting to improve a bit: Daily average mortgage rates have steadily declined since the start of May, and this week’s slightly softer-than-expected inflation report sent rates below 7% for the first time in over five weeks. And 6.3% of home sellers are dropping their price, on average, the highest share in a year and a half, which may mean price growth loses momentum soon.
“High prices and rates are challenging, but there are ways for buyers to take advantage of the somewhat slow market,” said Marsha McMahon-Jones, a Redfin Premier agent in Palm Springs, CA. “Sellers know that high mortgage rates mean they should expect negotiations, expect offers to come in under list price, and be ready for some back and forth on things like repairs and closing costs. Buyers may not be able to get a lower mortgage rate, but they’re often getting homes for slightly less than the asking price. It’s also a good time to buy a fixer-upper at a lower price point because those aren’t selling as quickly.”
For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, including how current financial events like the latest CPI report are impacting mortgage rates, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.
Leading indicators
Indicators of homebuying demand and activity
Value (if applicable)
Recent change
Year-over-year change
Source
Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate
6.99% (May 15)
Down from a 5-month high of 7.52% three weeks earlier
Up from 6.55%
Mortgage News Daily
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate
7.09% (week ending May 9)
Down from 5-month high of 7.22% a week earlier
Up from 6.35%
Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)
Declined 2% from a week earlier (as of week ending May 10)
Down 14%
Mortgage Bankers Association
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted)
Lowest level in 2 months (as of week ending May 12)
Down 13%
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents
Touring activity
Up 5% from the start of the year (as of May 13)
At this time last year, it was up 21% from the start of 2023
ShowingTime, a home touring technology company
Google searches for “home for sale”
Down 8% from a month earlier (as of May 13)
Down 15%
Google Trends
Key housing-market data
U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending May 12, 2024
Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas, and is based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision.
Four weeks ending May 12, 2024
Year-over-year change
Notes
Median sale price
$386,951
4.7%
All-time high
Median asking price
$418,455
6.6%
All-time high
Median monthly mortgage payment
$2,858 at a 7.09% mortgage rate
12.7%
Just $26 below all-time high set during the 4 weeks ending April 28
Pending sales
90,457
-4.3%
Biggest decline since 4 weeks ending Feb. 25
New listings
102,269
10%
Active listings
890,224
14.2%
Months of supply
3.2
+0.5 pts.
4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions.
Share of homes off market in two weeks
45.2%
Down from 49%
Median days on market
33
+2 days
Share of homes sold above list price
30.8%
Down from 33%
Share of homes with a price drop
6.3%
+2 pts.
Highest level since Nov. 2022
Average sale-to-list price ratio
99.4%
Unchanged
Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending May 12, 2024
Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.
Metros with biggest year-over-year increases
Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases
Notes
Median sale price
Detroit (18.8%)
Anaheim, CA (18.6%)
West Palm Beach, FL (16.2%)
San Jose, CA (13.6%)
Newark, NJ (11.7%)
San Antonio (-0.5%)
Decreased in just 1 metro
Pending sales
San Jose, CA (16.6%)
Anaheim, CA (9.2%)
San Francisco (5.3%)
Newark, NJ (5.2%)
Sacramento, CA (3%)
Phoenix (-14.9%)
Atlanta (-13.6%)
Houston (-13.2%)
West Palm Beach, FL (-11.8%)
Nashville, TN (-11.1%)
Increased in 12 metros
New listings
San Jose, CA (40.2%)
Seattle (26.4%)
Phoenix (24.7%)
Oakland, CA (24.6%)
Montgomery County, PA (21.9%)
Chicago (-8.1%)
Atlanta (-3.4%)
Detroit (-3.1%)
Virginia Beach, VA (-1.9%)
Newark, NJ (-1.6%)
Warren, MI (-1.2%)
Decreased in 6 metros
Refer to our metrics definition page for explanations of all the metrics used in this report.
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This article was originally published by a www.redfin.com . Read the Original article here. .