Tag Archives: Redfin

Early January indicators suggest the housing market got off to a strong start in 2015, with inventory growth and increased demand driving growth in what's usually a chilly month for the sector.

Nationwide, home sales fell 1.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the brokerage said in a recent report. Sales have been down year-over-year for every quarter so far in 2014. At the same time, sales of homes priced at at least $1 million continued to lift, rising 9 percent over the past year.

Redfin reported a 2.2 percent increase in the number of homes sold in October compared to the same month last year, making it the first month to see a significant yearly increase in home sales so far in 2014. Redfin's data reinforces recent findings from the National Association of Realtors, which estimated October home sales at an adjusted annual rate of 5.26 million, an increase of 2.5 percent from last year.

Despite the fact that 30-year fixed mortgage rates dipped below 4 percent in October, the number of buyers looking to tour homes cooled off. At the same time, the rate drop triggered a hefty increase in signings last month, according to Redfin, which released its latest look at homebuying activity on Friday.

Out of hundreds of home sellers surveyed nationwide earlier this month, only 35.1 percent said now is a good time to sell a home in their neighborhood, according to the latest Real-Time Seller Survey from Redfin. The response reflects a decline of more than 17 percentage points from the second-quarter survey, which found more than half of sellers felt they had an advantage in the market.

According to an analysis from Redfin, housing stock in all of its tracked markets totaled 563,377 in September, up 4.1 percent from August and 6.3 percent from a year prior. Even with the unexpected rise in inventory, analysts at the company expressed doubt that supply will be able to keep pace with demand in the coming months, especially with home affordability still looking favorable.

Real estate brokerage Redfin reported a 2.2 percent monthly increase in customers requesting tours with the company's agents last month, about half the improvement recorded this time last year. "Though the September uptick in tour requests was not as strong as last year, this late season pickup suggests that housing activity will hold steady through November before the seasonal slowdown in home searches over the holiday," said Chief Economist Nela Richardson.

Examining August activity in more than 30 markets nationwide, Redfin reported a 1.4 percent month-over-month dip in home sale prices to a median $281,000, reflecting a gain of just 5.1 percent over last year. More interesting, Redfin said, was the shift in supply and demand dynamics: Even as new listings plunged 9.3 percent—nearly triple the average July-to-August decline—numbers of customers touring homes and making offers rose, demonstrating buyers aren't backing off.

Looking at the stock of homes for sale in its network of markets, national brokerage Redfin reported that, among the "mid-range" of home prices ($130,000–$375,000) available supply has actually fallen 17 percent over the last three years to a total of 668,000 as of July. In the lowest quartile of the market, the shortage is even more severe, with supply down nearly 50 percent since 2011.

Based on trend data collected from 2011–2013, Trulia reported Tuesday that home searches on its website nationally come in 6 percent below the annual average for the months of September and October as summer transitions into fall. Trulia's analysis follows a report last week from Redfin in which Chief Economist Nela Richardson predicted the strongest fall season in years for home sales as the market comes closer to balance.