\nNew listings of U.S. homes for sale fell 1.7% year over year during the four weeks ending December 7, the biggest decline in over two years. That\u2019s according to a new report<\/a> from Redfin<\/a>, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.\n<\/p>\n
\nWould-be home sellers are pulling back partly because it\u2019s the end of the year, typically a slow season for the housing market, and partly because they\u2019re reacting to lackluster homebuying demand. Pending home sales are down 4.1% from a year ago, the biggest decline in 10 months. The homes that are <\/i>selling are taking a long time to do so: The typical home that goes under contract is doing so in 51 days, roughly a week longer than last year.\n<\/p>\n
\nProspective homebuyers have been hesitant for many months, spooked by widespread economic uncertainty<\/a> and high housing costs. The median home-sale price is up 2%, with prices rising despite slow demand partly because of tightening inventory. The weekly average mortgage rate has fallen to its lowest level in over a year, but it\u2019s still well above 6%.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cSome would-be sellers are sitting tight because the market is flat,\u201d said Josh Felder<\/a>, a Redfin Premier agent in San Francisco. \u201cThat\u2019s partly because we\u2019re heading into the normal seasonal slowdown, and partly because prospective sellers and house hunters are watching and waiting to see what\u2019s going to happen next year with rates, the stock market and tariffs. Some homeowners will put their home on the market in 2026 when they have a better idea of how the economy will shape up.\u201d\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