Redfin: U.S. Pending Home Sales Fall to Their Lowest Since Records Began in 2021, Typical Monthly Payment the Second Highest Ever at $2,796
In its four-week rolling report released on October 22, real estate brokerage Redfin said U.S. pending home sales fell to 281,749 in the four weeks ending October 18, down 1.9% from the prior four-week period and 14.4% from a year earlier, the lowest reading in Redfin's weekly data series, which goes back to 2021. For the second consecutive week, pending sales fell year over year in all 50 of the most populous U.S. metro areas, with the steepest drops in Seattle (-28.8%) and San Diego (-25.4%), followed by Atlanta, Denver and Las Vegas. The figures are Redfin's own estimates.
Financing costs are what is holding buyers back. The typical monthly housing payment reached $2,796 in the period, the second-highest level in Redfin's records and up 10.4% from a year earlier, calculated at a mortgage rate of about 7.4%. The median sale price was $390,614, up just 0.2% year over year, and the median asking price was $399,629, up 0.9%: prices are roughly flat, but high rates have pushed payments sharply higher. Freddie Mac's weekly survey likewise puts the average 30-year fixed rate at about 7.32%, far above a year ago.
Supply is tightening at the same time: new listings totaled 354,412 in the same four weeks, down 1.4% from the prior period and 2.7% from a year earlier, the lowest since July, while active listings stood at about 1.51 million, up 2.1% year over year. Months of supply was 4.4, up from 4 a year earlier; Redfin treats 4 to 5 months as a balanced market. In the period, 21.7% of listings had a price cut and 23.3% of homes sold above list price. Redfin says there are hundreds of thousands more sellers than buyers nationwide, giving buyers their strongest negotiating leverage in more than a decade. (GSM, from Redfin's report and The Mortgage Point)
Source: GSM·America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国一处挂牌出售的住宅与「FOR SALE」牌（资料图，摄于 New Orleans）。照片：Infrogmation，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A U.S. home listed for sale with a 'FOR SALE' sign (file photo, New Orleans). Photo: Infrogmation, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
