Pending House Gross sales Fall To Lowest Stage Since 2015, New Knowledge Exhibits

Pending residence gross sales started the yr at their lowest ranges since 2015, with the largest drop-offs seen in pandemic-era sizzling spots, based on new information launched Thursday by Redfin.

U.S. pending residence gross sales dropped 32 % yearly in the course of the four-week interval ending Jan. 1, with the largest drop-offs recorded in markets that took off in the course of the pandemic similar to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Austin, based on Redfin. Pending gross sales in every of these cities fell by greater than 50 %.

Indicators of homebuyer demand have been blended in December, with Redfin’s Purchaser Demand Index — an in-house gauge of demand that appears at tour requests and different homebuying companies — rising 8 % from two weeks earlier, whereas mortgage buy functions fell 12 %. The dramatic decline in mortgage buy functions may probably be chalked as much as extreme winter storms hitting giant components of the U.S., the report notes.

House costs fell in 19 of the 50 most populated U.S. cities in December, based on the Redfin information, dropping 10.4 % yearly in San Francisco, 6 % in Sacramento and 5.6 % in San Jose.

The everyday residence offered for $350,000, up simply 0.5 % from December of 2021, solely barely slower than the annual progress fee of 0.7 % seen at first of the pandemic when the housing market floor to a close to halt.

The present market may present a possibility for patrons who could also be flush with money however have been unable to attain a house earlier in 2022 resulting from intense competitors, one Redfin agent surmised.

“Two classes of patrons are beginning their search proper now: First-timers hoping costs and competitors are extra manageable than they’ve been over the previous few years, and returning patrons who took a break after shedding out on a number of houses in the course of the pandemic bidding-war frenzy,” Seattle Redfin agent Shoshana Godwin mentioned.

“They need to be capable to take their time and discover a residence for a barely cheaper price than final yr, however the market will probably turn into extra aggressive over the subsequent few months,” Godwin added. “I anticipate new listings to stay scarce as owners maintain onto low rates of interest whereas the pool of decided patrons circle the few houses which can be obtainable.”

E-mail Ben Verde