Redfin Reports Buying a Home Costs More Than Ever, With Prices Hitting All-Time High and Mortgage Rates Rising

The median U.S. home pierce rose 5.2% year over year this week, and mortgage rates hit their highest level since November 2023

(NASDAQ: RDFN) —The median U.S. home-sale price hit a record $383,725 during the four weeks ending April 21, up 5.2% from a year earlier—one of the biggest jumps since October 2022. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

The average weekly mortgage rate hit 7.1% this week, its highest level since November 2023, as it became clear the Fed would keep interest rates high longer than expected. High prices and mortgage rates drove the median monthly housing payment to a record $2,843, up 13% year over year.

Prices are soaring despite the fact that there’s more inventory than last year. New listings are up 10.2% year over year, though growth in listings may be losing momentum as stubbornly high rates solidify the lock-in effect. Prices are being buoyed by the fact that inventory remains low despite the recent improvement. Demand is holding up fairly well in the face of 7%-plus rates, though some indicators are starting to show a slowdown. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents—is near its highest level in about eight months, but mortgage-purchase applications are down slightly (-1%) week over week.

“My advice to sellers is to price your home fairly. Even though sellers are getting top dollar at the moment, they should price competitively to attract buyers from the start and avoid having to drop their price as stubbornly high mortgage rates eat into buying budgets,” said Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao. “My advice for serious buyers who can afford today’s costs is to shop for your dream home and accept that this year is probably not the time to find a dream deal. Price growth may cool slightly in the coming months if mortgage rates stay high or rates might fall slightly—but overall housing costs are likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future.”

For more of Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, including how current financial events are impacting mortgage rates, 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

7.39% (April 24)

Up from roughly 7% one month earlier; near highest level since November 2023

Up from 6.59%

Mortgage News Daily

Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate

7.1% (week ending April 18)

Up from 6.87% a month earlier; highest level since November 2023

Up from 6.39%

Freddie Mac

Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)

 

Decreased 1% from a week earlier (as of week ending April 19)

Down 15%

Mortgage Bankers Association

Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted)

 

Up 3% from a month earlier (as of week ending April 21)

Down 9%

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

Touring activity

 

Up 34% from the start of the year (as of April 23)

At this time last year, it was up 29% from the start of 2023

ShowingTime, a home touring technology company

Google searches for “home for sale”

 

Unchanged from a month earlier (as of April 21)

Down 17%

Google Trends

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending April 21, 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 April 21, 2024

Year-over-year change

Notes

Median sale price

$383,725

5.2%

All-time high; biggest increase since Oct. 2022, with the exception of the 4 weeks ending Feb. 11, 2024 and the 4 weeks ending Feb. 18, 2024 (5.3% increases)

Median asking price

$415,925

6.7%

All-time high; biggest increase since Sept. 2022

Median monthly mortgage payment

$2,843 at a 7.1% mortgage rate

12.6%

All-time high

Pending sales

86,786

-3.8%

Biggest decline in 6 weeks

New listings

95,580

10.2%

 

Active listings

840,411

10.1%

 

Months of supply

3.2 months

+0.4 pts.

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

43.3%

Down from 46%

 

Median days on market

35

Unchanged

 

Share of homes sold above list price

29.8%

Essentially unchanged

 

Share of homes with a price drop

6%

+1.7 pts.

 

Average sale-to-list price ratio

99.2%

+0.1 pt.

 

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending April 21, 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

Anaheim, CA (25%)

New Brunswick, NJ (14.9%)

Detroit (14%)

West Palm Beach, FL (13.4%)

San Jose, CA (13%)

 

 

Austin, TX (-0.9%)

 

 

 

 

Declined in just 1 metro

Pending sales

San Jose, CA (14.2%)

San Francisco (6.4%)

Seattle (5.7%)

Milwaukee (5.2%)

Anaheim, CA (4.5%)

Nassau County, NY (-13.9%)

Phoenix (-13%)

Fort Lauderdale, FL (-12.5%)

Houston (-11.9%)

Riverside, CA (-11.4%)

 

 

Increased in 9 metros

New listings

San Jose, CA (43.1%)

Jacksonville, FL (29.1%)

Phoenix (25.8%)

Sacramento, CA (24%)

Miami (21.9%)

 

 

Newark, NJ (-9.1%)

Cleveland, OH (-5.9%)

Chicago (-4.7%)

Milwaukee (-4.7%)

Providence, RI (-4.4%)

Detroit (-4%)

Declined in 6 metros

To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-home-prices-costs-record-high

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, title insurance, and renovations 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. Customers selling a home can have our renovations crew fix it up to sell for top dollar. 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 more than 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 press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

Contacts

Contact Redfin

Redfin Journalist Services:

Kenneth Applewhaite, 206-414-8880

press@redfin.com

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