The median U.S. housing payment is down nearly $400 from its October peak, enticing some sidelined buyers to get back in the game
(NASDAQ: RDFN) —The median U.S. mortgage payment was $2,361 during the four weeks ending December 31, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s down $372 (-14%) from October’s all-time high to its lowest level in nearly a year.
Early-stage homebuying demand is starting to pick up as buyers take advantage of lower rates and more homes to choose from (new listings are up 10% year over year). Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a seasonally adjusted measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents—is up 10% from a month ago to its highest level since August. Pending sales are down just 3% annually, the smallest decline in two years.
“There have been more tours and more offers on my listings since mortgage rates started declining,” said Las Vegas Redfin Premier agent Shay Stein. “It’s all about perspective: Two years ago, buyers would have cried about a 6% mortgage rate. Now, they’re happy they’ve dropped down to the mid-6’s.”
Leading indicators
Indicators of homebuying demand and activity |
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|
Value (if applicable) |
Recent change |
Year-over-year change |
Source |
Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate |
6.7% (Jan. 3) |
Up from 6.61% a week earlier |
Up from 6.45% |
Mortgage News Daily |
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate |
6.61% (week ending Dec. 28) |
Lowest level since May |
Up from 6.42% |
Freddie Mac |
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted) |
|
Down 5% from two weeks earlier; down 3% from a month earlier (as of week ending Dec. 29) |
Down 12% |
Mortgage Bankers Association |
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted) |
|
Highest level since August; Up 10% from a month earlier (as of the week ending Dec. 31) |
Down 6% |
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents |
Google searches for “home for sale” |
|
Up 3% from a month earlier (as of Dec. 30) |
Down 20% |
Google Trends |
Key housing-market data
U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending December 31, 2023 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. |
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|
Four weeks ending
|
Year-over-year change |
Notes |
Median sale price |
$363,371 |
4.4% |
Biggest increase since October 2022 |
Median asking price |
$359,236 |
4.3% |
|
Median monthly mortgage payment |
$2,361 at a 6.61% mortgage rate |
5.4% |
Down $372 (-14%) from all-time high set during the four weeks ending Oct. 22. Lowest level since Feb. |
Pending sales |
52,552 |
-3.3% |
Smallest decline since January 2022 |
New listings |
44,297 |
9.5% |
|
Active listings |
789,516 |
-3.9% |
Smallest decline since June |
Months of supply |
3.8 months |
+0.3 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 |
26.5% |
Up from 25% |
|
Median days on market |
41 |
-2 days |
|
Share of homes sold above list price |
24.2% |
Up from 23% |
|
Share of homes with a price drop |
3.9% |
+0.5 pts. |
|
Average sale-to-list price ratio |
98.4% |
+0.5 pts. |
|
Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending December 31, 2023 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. |
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|
Metros with biggest year-over-year increases |
Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases |
Notes |
Median sale price |
Newark, NJ (18.2%) Anaheim, CA (18.1%) West Palm Beach, FL (15.2%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (15.1%) Miami (11.7%) |
Fort Worth, TX (-3.1%) Austin, TX (-1.7%) San Francisco (-1.1%) Denver (-0.4%) |
Declined in 4 metros |
Pending sales |
Dallas (11.3%) Milwaukee (9.3%) Cleveland, OH (6.3%) San Jose, CA (5.6%) Chicago (5.6%)
|
Providence, RI (-15.4%) New Brunswick, NJ (-13.6%) Newark, NJ (-12.5%) New York (-10.8%) Atlanta (-10%) |
Increased in 13 metros |
New listings |
Phoenix (23.5%) Montgomery County, PA (21.9%) Austin, TX (20.9%) San Antonio, TX (18.3%) Dallas (16.4%)
|
San Francisco (-35.3%) Atlanta (-11.5%) Providence, RI (-9.8%) Indianapolis, IN (-6.9%) Warren, MI (-5.6%) |
Declined in 11 metros |
To view the full report, including charts, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-monthly-payments-drop
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 also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with same day 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 4,000 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.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240104481150/en/
Contacts
Redfin Journalist Services:
Kenneth Applewhaite, 206-414-8880
press@redfin.com
