Existing Home Sales, Pending Sales Fall to Lowest Level Since Pandemic Start as House Hunters Wait for Mortgage Rates to Drop Further
Pending sales—a more current gauge of housing market activity that includes both existing and newly constructed homes—fell to the lowest level on record aside from
Mortgage rates have been declining since spring and in August dropped to the lowest level in over a year. Housing payments are now more affordable than they were a year ago. But buyers have been reluctant to respond. That’s likely in part because home prices remain elevated. The median sale price rose 3% year over year in August to
Redfin agents report that some house hunters are waiting to buy in hopes that rates will fall further, while others are on the sidelines because they’re confused about the new NAR rules or are waiting to see how the presidential election shakes out.
“There’s no sense of urgency. Buyers are selective right now, especially if they have a house already. They’re looking for the perfect home at the right price,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of desirable homes out there right now, and the ones that are in good shape go quickly if they’re priced well. My advice to sellers is to price your home fairly; if you don’t, it could end up sitting on the market.”
The average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.5% in August from 7.07% a year earlier—the first annual decline in three years. Rates dropped 0.35 percentage points from a month earlier, which was the largest monthly decline since the end of 2023. They’ve fallen further since, dropping to 6.2% during the week ending
The
|
|
Month-over-month change |
Year-over-year change |
Median sale price |
|
-1.3% |
3% |
Existing home sales, seasonally adjusted annual rate |
4,042,369 |
-1% |
-3.1% |
Pending sales, seasonally adjusted |
453,406 |
-1.9% |
-2.4% |
Homes sold, seasonally adjusted |
411,822 |
-0.8% |
-2.5% |
New listings, seasonally adjusted |
526,740 |
1.6% |
2.1% |
Total homes for sale, seasonally adjusted (active listings) |
1,636,415 |
-0.3% |
13.3% |
Months of supply |
2.6 |
0 |
0.5 |
Median days on market |
37 |
3 |
6 |
Share of homes sold above final list price |
30.2% |
-3.1 ppts |
-6 ppts |
Average sale-to-final-list-price ratio |
99.3% |
-0.4 ppts |
-0.6 ppts |
Pending sales that fell out of contract, as % of overall pending sales |
15.6% |
0.4 ppts |
0.8 ppts |
Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate |
6.5% |
-0.35 ppts |
-0.57 ppts |
Note: Data is subject to revision
Hopeful Signs for Buyers: New Listings Tick Up, Fewer Homes Sell for Above the Asking Price
There are a few pieces of good news for homebuyers in addition to falling mortgage rates. Housing supply is inching up, which means more options to choose from. New listings rose 1.6% month over month in August to the highest seasonally-adjusted level in nearly two years, and climbed 2.1% from a year earlier.
Plus, homes are less likely to sell for above their list price. Less than one-third of homes (30.2%) that sold in August went for more than their asking price, down from 36.2% a year earlier and the lowest share of any August since 2019.
The typical home that went off the market sold for 99.3% of its list price, down from 99.9% a year earlier and also the lowest August level since 2019.
Metro-Level Highlights:
The bullets below are based on a list of the 50 most populous
-
Prices: Median sale prices rose most from a year earlier in
Nassau County, NY (10%),Philadelphia (9.1%) andMilwaukee (8%). They fell in seven metros, with the biggest declines inSan Antonio (-4.4%),Austin, TX (-4.4%) andSan Francisco (-2.2%). -
Pending sales: Pending sales rose most in
San Francisco (12.3%),San Jose, CA (6.7%) andSan Diego (4.4%). They fell most inWest Palm Beach, FL (-17.6%),Fort Lauderdale, FL (-17.2%) andMiami (-15.1%). -
Closed home sales: Home sales rose most in
San Francisco (5.3%),San Jose (4%) andNewark, NJ (3.3%). They fell most inWest Palm Beach (-17.1%),Miami (-13.6%) andFort Worth, TX (-12.9%). -
New listings: New listings rose most in
Las Vegas (12.8%),San Diego (11.7%) andSacramento, CA (9.5%). They fell most inAtlanta (-19.4%),Portland, OR (-14.6%) andNewark (-10.6%). -
Active listings: Active listings rose most in
Tampa, FL (50.1%),Fort Lauderdale (46.4%) andSan Diego (41.9%). They fell most inNew York (-5.4%),Newark (-4.4%) andChicago (-3.8%). -
Sold above list price: In
Newark , 68.5% of homes sold above their final list price, the highest share among the metros Redfin analyzed. Next cameSan Jose (60.5%) andNassau County (56.5%). The shares were lowest inWest Palm Beach (7%),Austin (10.8%) andFort Lauderdale (11.6%).
To view the full report, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-sales-lowest-since-pandemic-2024/
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Source: Redfin