At $362,750, the median home sale price did not set a new record high for the first time since early March. Instead it was flat (-0.2%) from the four-week period ending July 25 and up 18% from a year earlier. Trends for home prices, sales and new listings are starting to resemble the patterns we typically expect for this time of year, which is news after a year of unpredictable and insatiable demand for homes. Measures of competition and home-selling speed are plateauing–at 54% of homes selling above list price and about half under contract within two weeks–as pending sales slide and new listings climb. Mortgage rates are back below 2.8%, a level that we haven’t seen since the winter. If these trends continue, homebuying conditions will likely improve (relative to earlier in the summer), with more options and less competition for homebuyers.
“Although homes are much pricier than they were before the pandemic, homebuyers now have the benefit of very low mortgage rates and a little less competition than they faced earlier in the summer,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “This week a young first-time buyer with an FHA loan had her offer accepted on a home near Myrtle Beach, SC, after losing out in five bidding wars. I am hopeful that more opportunities like this will arise in the coming weeks if things continue to stabilize.”
Find more info at: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-buying-conditions-improve/