The four-week period ending January 29 features a brand-new record for the housing market – 55% of for-sale houses are under contract within 2 weeks, which means they’re selling at record speed. That’s the largest percentage in at least 9 years.
Redfin reports that 55% of homes throughout that period went under contract within two weeks. This is the greatest number seen ever since Redfin started collecting information in 2012.
The tech-powered property brokerage had more to report, too. The median sales price increased 15% to $318,280. And pending house sales increased 30% year over year.
Nevertheless, the number of active listings fell 35% from 2020, which is an all-time low.
Eager Buyers
Buyers are incredibly hungry for listings, but unfortunately, there isn’t much to choose from, and that scarcity is making buyers all the more frenzied,” stated Daryl Fairweather, Redfin Chief Economist. “As a result, the majority of the homes that hit the market are getting multiple offers right away. Not only do you have to be fast to win a home, you have to be prepared and resourceful.”
The average sale-to-list price ratio also increased, however just somewhat. Compared to a year prior, it increased by 1.6% to 99.3%.
“I recommend that buyers on a tight budget target homes that are priced 5 to 10 percent below their maximum price so they have room to increase their offer in a bidding war,” Fairweather stated.
Pre-Pandemic Levels
The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, which gauges requests for home visits, increased 60% from pre-pandemic levels, the highest level yet since January and February of 2020. This attributes to houses selling at record speed.
Even though home loan purchase applications decreased 4% week over week, they were in fact up 16% from a year earlier. And 30-year home loan rates struck another record low of 2.73% during the week ending January 28.
“The inventory is there; it’s lying in wait,” mentioned Scott Petrich, Seattle Redfin real estate agent. “Now that the end of the pandemic is in sight, people will gradually start listing homes for sale. And once more companies and workplaces start calling employees back to the office, some homebuyer demand will shift back toward apartments and townhomes. Right now all the pressure is on single-family, suburban homes.”
Redfin’s report consisted of over 400 cities in the U.S.
