The median U.S. housing payment is down nearly $400 from its October peak, enticing some sidelined buyers to get back in the game, according to Redfin.
The median U.S. mortgage payment was $2,361 during the four weeks ended December 31, data from the technology-powered real estate brokerage show.
That’s down $372, or 14%, from October’s all-time high to its lowest level in nearly a year.
Early-stage homebuying demand is starting to pick up as buyers take advantage of lower rates and more homes to choose from: New listings are up 10% year over year.
Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a seasonally adjusted measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents—is also up 10% from a month ago and is now at its highest level since August.
Pending sales are down just 3% annually, the smallest decline in two years.
“There have been more tours and more offers on my listings since mortgage rates started declining,” says Shay Stein, a Redfin agent in Las Vegas. “It’s all about perspective: Two years ago, buyers would have cried about a 6 percent mortgage rate. Now, they’re happy they’ve dropped down to the mid-6’s.”
Photo: Alexander Grey