Tag Archives: Redfin

Reports from Redfin agents indicate the fourth quarter was a rough one for homeowners looking to sell.

According to Redfin's most recent Real-Time Fastest Markets report, 27.2 percent of homes in 23 metros all over the United States went under contract within two weeks of listing in November.

Despite a reported rise in homebuyer confidence in the third quarter--the first this year--unrealistic mortgage rate expectations could lead the housing recovery astray.

Despite a softening market, competition among buyers remained fairly fierce in October, Redfin reported in its Real-Time Bidding Wars release for the month. Last month, 55.9 percent of offers written by the brokerage's agents faced competition from other buyers, a decline from 58.3 percent in September. Bidding wars have been on a downward slope since peaking at 79 percent in February. Even with the decline, though, competition last month was higher than expected, given the effects of the government shutdown on consumer confidence.

Even with the seasonal slowdown in full effect, shifting market conditions continued to boost October home sales and prices over last year, Redfin reported Wednesday in its monthly Real-Time Price Tracker. The broker recorded 74,363 total home sales across its 19 tracked markets in October, a 1.0 percent decline from September but a 0.6 percent gain over October 2012. Though historically low mortgage rates and reduced competition have helped keep numbers up, Redfin says the situation is liable to change at any time.

With reports showing home prices reaching five-year highs coming out on a near-monthly basis, home sellers this year have been aggressive in pricing their listings on the market. However, new data from technology-powered broker Redfin shows more and more sellers have had to dial back their expectations. Only about one in seven sellers had to resort to reducing their listing price in order to move their property, Redfin reported. However, that number has steadily risen to one in four as of September.

Homebuyers shook off their fears and returned to the market in force following the re-opening of the government in October, according to data presented by Redfin's Research Center. Despite reports of consumer confidence waning, Redfin customers seemed relatively unfazed. "My clients think the ugly showdown we saw in October is unlikely to happen again," reported Philip Gvinter, a Redfin agent based in Washington, D.C. "After putting their home search on hold during the shutdown, they are ready to get back out there."

In the aftermath of the federal government shutdown, Redfin Research Center finds home sellers harbor concerns about the state of the economy and declining optimism toward selling their homes. "Almost certainly due to the U.S. government shutdown and debt ceiling battle in October, sellers this quarter were most worried about the state of the U.S. economy, with 39 percent naming 'general economic conditions' as a concern about listing their home," Redfin stated Thursday in its Real-Time Seller Survey.

Redfin's Real-Time Bidding Wars report shows 58.3 percent of offers written by Redfin agents across the country faced bidding wars in September, down from 60.5 percent in August. Last September, 62.7 percent of offers faced competing bids. With competition diminishing, Redfin has also observed a fall in the number of homes selling at above asking price. On average across all tracked markets, buyers paid 0.4 percent below asking price (compared to 0.3 percent in August).

Homebuyer interest picked up slightly in September, but the number of customers willing to pull the trigger on purchasing declined substantially, Redfin reported in its latest Real-Time Demand Pulse. The number of buyers requesting home tours from Redfin agents rose 0.2 percent from August, turning up from a steady downward spiral that started in May. Meanwhile, the number of homebuyers submitting offers fell 11.8 percent, the largest monthly drop Redfin has recorded all year.