Redfin Reports More Sellers Are Listing Their Homes, Hoping to Cash in on High Prices and Demand From Buyers

New listings posted their second-biggest annual increase since early summer this week, and pending home sales continue to rise

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — New listings of homes for sale are up 7.6%, the biggest year-over-year increase since June (except the four weeks ending November 24, when the increase was inflated due to Thanksgiving), according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. This is based on data from the four weeks ending December 15.

There are several reasons more sellers are putting their homes on the market. One, home prices are high; the median U.S. home sale price is up 6% year over year, the second-biggest increase since October 2022. Two, consumer confidence rose to a 16-month high after November’s election, motivating more sellers to make the major financial decision to list their homes. And finally, some sellers are hoping to take advantage of the increased homebuying demand Redfin has seen over the last month.

The latest demand signals show it is continuing to strengthen. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a seasonally adjusted measure of tours and other buying services from Redfin agents—is up 9% year over year, and is sitting near its highest level since August 2023. Mortgage-purchase applications are up 18% month over month, and pending home sales are up 4.1%, similar to the increases Redfin has seen over the last few months. Like sellers, many homebuyers are feeling more confident about making a big financial move after the summer and early fall slump. Declining mortgage rates are another reason more buyers are coming off the fence: The weekly average rate has declined for three weeks in a row to a two-month low of 6.6%. It’s worth noting that mortgage rates may have bottomed out for the time being; daily average rates rose above 7% on December 18 after the Fed signaled it will cut interest rates twice in 2025, instead of four times.

“We’re having a busier winter than usual; I have a handful of listings ready to hit the market right after the new year. This time last year, it was crickets,” said David Palmer, a Redfin Premier agent in the Seattle area. “Buyers are coming out of the woodwork because they’ve accepted that rates in the 6% to 7% range are the new normal, and they know that if they wait to buy, mortgage rates will probably stay the same but prices will be higher.”

For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, 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

7.13% (Dec. 18)

Up from 6.68% a week earlier

Up from 6.82%

Mortgage News Daily

Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate

6.6% (week ending Dec. 12)

Down from 6.84% two weeks earlier

Down from 6.95%

Freddie Mac

Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)

 

Up 1% from a week earlier (as of week ending Dec. 13)

Up 6%

Mortgage Bankers Association

Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted)

 

Up 5% from a month earlier; near highest level since August 2023

(as of week ending Dec. 15)

Up 9%

 

 

Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index a measure of tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents

Touring activity

 

Down 23% from the start of the year (as of Dec. 16)

At this time last year, it was down 32% from the start of 2023

ShowingTime, a home touring technology company

Google searches for “home for sale”

 

Essentially unchanged from a month earlier (as of Dec. 16)

Down 15%

 

Google Trends

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending Dec. 15, 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 Dec. 15, 2024

Year-over-year change

Notes

Median sale price

$383,302

6%

Biggest increase since October 2022, except the 4-week period ending Nov. 2024, when the increase was inflated due to Thanksgiving

Median asking price

$377,475

5.5%

Median monthly mortgage payment

$2,479 at a 6.6% mortgage rate

4.9%

Lowest level since September

Pending sales

61,417

4.1%

New listings

58,723

7.6%

Active listings

966,321

11.6%

Months of supply

4

+0.1 pt.

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

25.8%

Down from 28%

Median days on market

44

+6 days

Share of homes sold above list price

23.9%

Down from 25%

Average sale-to- list price ratio

98.4%

-0.1 pt.

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending Dec. 15, 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

Warren, MI (12.1%)

Milwaukee (12%)

Cleveland (11.9%)

Miami (11.4%)

Chicago (10.6%)

Tampa, FL (-1.2%)

Declined in 1 metro

Pending sales

Jacksonville, FL (16.4%)

San Jose, CA (14.6%)

Cincinnati (13.3%)

Columbus, OH (13.3%)

Denver (11.5%)

Warren, MI (-9.4%)

San Diego (-7.2%)

Orlando, FL (-5.9%)

Houston (-5.6%)

Philadelphia (-4.9%)

Declined in 12 metros

New listings

San Francisco (16.5%)

Virginia Beach, VA (16.4%)

Oakland, CA (15.8%)

Columbus, OH (15.7%)

Tampa, FL (15.4%)

San Antonio (-10%)

Newark, NJ (-8.9%)

Detroit (-7.6%)

Orlando, FL (-6.2%)

San Diego (-6%)

Declined in 12 metros

To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-more-new-listings-demand

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, and title insurance services. We run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our customers can save thousands in fees while working with a top agent. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.6 billion in commissions. We serve approximately 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.

Redfin’s subsidiaries and affiliated brands include: Bay Equity Home Loans®, Rent.™, Apartment Guide®, Title Forward® and WalkScore®.

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 [e-mail]. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241219914572/en/

Contact Redfin Redfin Journalist Services: Tana Kelley [e-mail]