SEATTLE
,
June 15, 2023
(press release)
–
Inventory has posted its biggest decline in over a year, with homeowners hanging onto their comparatively low mortgage rates The total number of U.S. homes for sale dropped 6% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending June 11, the biggest decline in 13 months. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. New listings dropped 23%, continuing a 10-month streak of double-digit declines. Those add to the deepening post-pandemic inventory shortage; there are 39% fewer homes for sale now than there were five years ago, in June 2018. The inventory crunch is partly due to a homebuilding slump that’s lasted for over a decade and partly to mortgage rates falling to record-low levels during the pandemic, then shooting up. Mortgage rates have more than doubled since 2021, landing at close to 7% this week. The record-low mortgage rates of 2020 and 2021 drove a homebuying boom, depleting inventory. When rates started going up in the beginning of 2022, many would-be sellers backed off, failing to fill the inventory hole. Elevated rates discourage homeowners who would prefer to hold onto a comparatively low rate from selling. Pending home sales are down 17% year over year, the biggest decline in over four months, but it isn’t all due to a lack of demand. People are still showing interest in buying. Mortgage-purchase applications rose 8% over the last week, and Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for tours and other services from Redfin agents—is up over the last two weeks and near its highest level in a year. That means there’s a fair amount of pent-up demand, and many buyers will be ready to pounce when more homes hit the market. Demand outpacing supply is preventing home prices from falling drastically: The median sale price is down just 1.1%, the smallest annual decline in three months. This week’s economic news indicates that mortgage rates are unlikely to decline in the next few months, which may mean new listings stay low for the time being and the inventory shortage deepens. The latest inflation report shows that price increases have continued to cool, and the Fed announced that it will pause interest-rate hikes this month after nearly a year of increases but may hike a couple more times this year. “The Fed’s indication that there are more rate hikes to come is not what homebuyers want to hear. It’s likely to keep mortgage rates elevated and may even push them up a bit,” said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. “People who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for mortgage rates to decline, should know that’s unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. If a home that's in your price range and has everything on your wishlist hits the market, there's no good reason to wait.” Leading indicators of homebuying activity: Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas: Unless otherwise noted, this data covers the four-week period ending June 11. Redfin’s weekly housing market data goes back through 2015. For bullets that include metro-level breakdowns, Redfin analyzed the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. To view the full report, including charts, please visit: About Redfin Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home in certain markets can have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Customers who buy and sell with Redfin pay a 1% listing fee, subject to minimums, less than half of what brokerages commonly charge. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.5 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 5,000 people. For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here. Redfin Journalist Services: Source: Redfin Released June 15, 2023
https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-supply-drops-mortgage-rates-high
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230615322530/en/
Kenneth Applewhaite, 206-588-6863
press@redfin.com
* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.