Homes Sell Closer Than Ever to List Price as Average Sale-to-List Ratio Approaches 100%

Rhea-AI Summary

The median home-sale price surged 16% year over year to an all-time high of $323,600, marking the largest increase since 2016, according to Redfin's report. Key housing market insights include a new record for asking prices at $347,475, an 18% rise in pending sales, and a 40% drop in active listings. Although winter storms and rising mortgage rates have slightly impacted sales, demand remains high, with homes selling quickly. The average sale-to-list price ratio hit 99.6%, indicating homes are selling closer to their asking prices.

Positive

• Median home-sale price reached an all-time high of $323,600, up 16% year over year.
• Asking prices of newly listed homes hit a record $347,475, a 10% increase from last year.
• Pending home sales increased by 18% year over year, showing robust demand.
• 55% of homes had accepted offers within two weeks, the highest rate since at least 2012.
• The average sale-to-list price ratio rose to 99.6%, indicating homes are selling closer to asking prices.

Negative

• New listings of homes fell by 17% compared to the previous year.
• Active listings dropped by 40%, reaching an all-time low.
• Winter storms and rising mortgage rates have disrupted market performance.

SEATTLE, March 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — The median home-sale price increased 16% year over year to $323,600, an all-time high, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. This is the largest increase on record in this data set, which goes back through 2016.

Below are other key housing market takeaways for more than 400 U.S. metro areas during the 4-week period ending February 28.

• Asking prices of newly listed homes hit a new all-time high of $347,475, up 10% from the same time a year ago.
• Pending home sales were up 18% year over year.
• New listings of homes for sale were down 17% from a year earlier.
• Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell 40% from 2020 to a new all-time low.
• 55% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, well above the 44% rate during the same period a year ago. This is another new all-time high for this measure since at least 2012 (as far back as Redfin's data for this measure goes). During the week ending February 21, 57% of homes sold in two weeks or less.
• 43% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, up from 30% during the same period a year earlier. This is also an all-time high for this measure. During the week ending February 21, 44% sold in one week or less.
• The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices, increased to 99.6%—1.6 percentage points higher than a year earlier and an all-time high. During the 7-day period ending February 28, the ratio shot up to 99.9%, also an all-time high.
• For the 7-day period ending February 28, the seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for home tours and other services from Redfin agents—was up 49% from the same period a year ago.
• Mortgage purchase applications increased 2% week over week (seasonally adjusted) and were up 1% from a year earlier (unadjusted) during the week ending February 26. For the week ending March 4, 30-year mortgage rates increased to 3.02%, the highest level since July.

"Over the last few weeks winter storms have disrupted the housing market, and mortgage rates have risen sharply," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "Although pending sales and new listings have taken a small hit in the last couple of weeks, home price gains are showing no signs of slowing down. However, It's just too early to tell what the impact of these changes will be to the spring housing market. The effects of the storms should be temporary, but higher mortgage rates could make some buyers less willing to bid up home prices."

To view the full report, including charts and methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-rising-rates-winter-storms/

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered residential real estate company, redefining real estate in the consumer's favor in a commission-driven industry. We do this by integrating every step of the home buying and selling process and pairing our own agents with our own technology, creating a service that is faster, better and costs less. We offer brokerage, iBuying, mortgage, and title services, and we also run the country's #1 nationwide brokerage website, offering a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate. We represent people buying and selling homes in over 95 markets in the United States and Canada. Since our launch in 2006, we have saved our customers nearly $1 billion and we've helped them buy or sell more than 310,000 homes worth more than $152 billion.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/homes-sell-closer-than-ever-to-list-price-as-average-sale-to-list-ratio-approaches-100-301241317.html

SOURCE Redfin

FAQ

What is the current median home-sale price according to RDFN?

The median home-sale price has reached an all-time high of $323,600, up 16% year over year.

How much did asking prices increase for newly listed homes?

Asking prices for newly listed homes increased by 10%, reaching a record $347,475.

What was the change in pending home sales reported by RDFN?

Pending home sales increased by 18% year over year.

What percentage of homes sold had offers accepted within two weeks?

55% of homes had accepted offers within the first two weeks on the market, the highest rate since at least 2012.

How has the active listings market changed?

Active listings fell by 40% compared to the previous year, reaching an all-time low.