\n(NASDAQ: RDFN) \u2014 The median U.S. home-sale price rose 3.7% year over year during the four weeks ending February 16, the smallest increase since September. That\u2019s according to a new report<\/a> from Redfin (redfin.com<\/a>), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Additionally, the weekly average mortgage rate dipped to 6.87%, its lowest level of the year.\n<\/p>\n
\nWhile typical monthly housing costs remain near record highs, decelerating price growth and gradually declining rates are among several small pieces of good news for house hunters this week. Here are the others:\n<\/p>\n
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- Homebuyers have more total inventory to choose from. <\/b>There are five months of supply on the market, up from 4.1 months a year earlier and the most since early 2019 (except the 4 weeks ending January 26, when there were 5.1 months). Supply is piling up because listings are rising while pending home sales are falling.\n<\/li>\n
- Buyers have more new <\/i>inventory to choose from, too.<\/b> New listings are up 4.2% year over year to their highest level for any comparable time period in three years.\n<\/li>\n
- Buyers have more negotiating power.<\/b> The typical home is selling for 2% less than its asking price, the biggest discount in two years. Additionally, the typical home that sells is taking 57 days to go under contract, the longest span in five years. A slow market in which the typical home is selling under list price means buyers in many markets have the opportunity to negotiate on prices and terms.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nSome markets are more buyer friendly<\/a> than others. For example, the coastal Florida market is tilting in buyers\u2019 favor, while sellers are generally in the driver\u2019s seat in some West Coast and Northeast markets. Additionally, these conditions may be short-lived as more buyers come off the sidelines. Home-touring activity is rising, according to both ShowingTime data and Google data, and Redfin agents in certain areas report that house hunters are gearing up for spring homebuying season.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf a home needs work or it\u2019s priced too high, it\u2019s sitting on the market,\u201d said Cody Brownfield<\/a>, a Redfin Premier<\/a> agent in Cincinnati. \u201cThat\u2019s when a buyer has bargaining power. But updated homes that are priced right\u2014especially those located in desirable neighborhoods with highly rated schools\u2014are selling quickly, sometimes for tens of thousands of dollars over the asking price. It seems like every buyer is looking for the same type of house.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Pending sales, listings are up in Los Angeles in aftermath of wildfires<\/b><\/p>\n
\nIn Los Angeles, pending home sales rose 7.4% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending February 16, making it one of just seven major metros where sales are increasing. New listings in Los Angeles rose 21.9%, the third-biggest increase in the U.S.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe uptick in housing market activity among both homebuyers and sellers likely stems from January\u2019s Palisades and Eaton wildfires, which destroyed thousands<\/a> of homes in Los Angeles. Some affluent buyers who lost their homes are now buying new ones, and some homeowners are selling to meet the demand. Additionally, some buyers throughout Los Angeles pressed pause on their house hunt in January, when many parts of life were overshadowed by the devastating fires, and are picking it back up now.\n<\/p>\n
\nFor Redfin economists\u2019 takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin\u2019s \u201cFrom Our Economists<\/a>\u201d page.\n<\/p>\n
Leading indicators<\/b><\/p>\n
- Buyers have more new <\/i>inventory to choose from, too.<\/b> New listings are up 4.2% year over year to their highest level for any comparable time period in three years.\n<\/li>\n
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