A new report from Redfin shows the average sale-to-list price ratio of a home hit 100.1% during the four weeks ending July 2. Specifically, 36.8% of homes sold above their final list price. This marks the first time in nearly a year that the average U.S. home is selling for more than its asking price.
Additionally, the median home-sale price was $383,800, down just $1,000 (-0.3%) from a year ago, when prices were near record highs.
A lack of homes for sale is the main reason homes are selling above their asking price. New listings are down 25% from a year ago and the total number of homes for sale is down 12% as homeowners hang onto relatively low mortgage rates.
Despite low inventory and high prices, early-stage homebuyer demand is picking up. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index is up 4% from a month earlier and near its highest level in over a year.
Other leading indicators of homebuying activity and housing market takeaways:
- Mortgage-purchase applications during the week ending June 23 rose 3% from a week earlier, seasonally adjusted.
- Sale prices increased most in Milwaukee (11.2%), Providence, R.I. (8%), Newark, N.J. (6.3%), Miami (6.2%) and West Palm Beach, Fla. (5.5%).
- The median asking price of newly listed homes was $395,725, up 1.1% from a year earlier. Asking prices have been increasing for a month.
- New listings declined in all metros Redfin analyzed. They fell most in Las Vegas (-47.5% YoY), Phoenix (-41.1%), Riverside, Calif. (-36%), Oakland, Calif. (-34.9%) and New Brunswick, N.J. (-34.8%).
- Active listings dropped 11.6% from a year earlier, the biggest drop since April 2022. Typically, they post month-over-month increases at this time of year.
- Of the homes that went under contract, 32.3% had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market.
- Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 27 days, the shortest span in 10 months.
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