Housing Market Update: Buying a Home Costs More Than Ever, With Prices Hitting All-Time High and Mortgage Rates Rising - Redfin Real Estate News

Housing Market Update: Buying a Home Costs More Than Ever, With Prices Hitting All-Time High and Mortgage Rates Rising

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The median U.S. home price rose 5.2% year over year this week, and mortgage rates hit their highest level since November 2023. Prices continue to rise partly because there are still serious buyers searching for homes. 

The median U.S. home-sale price hit a record $383,725 during the four weeks ending April 21, up 5.2% from a year earlier–one of the biggest jumps since October 2022. The average weekly mortgage rate hit 7.1% this week, its highest level since November 2023, as it became clear the Fed would keep interest rates high longer than expected. High prices and mortgage rates drove the median monthly housing payment to a record $2,843, up 13% year over year. 

Prices are soaring despite the fact that there’s more inventory than last year. New listings are up 10.2% year over year, though growth in listings may be losing momentum as stubbornly high rates solidify the lock-in effect. Prices are being buoyed by the fact that inventory remains low despite the recent improvement. Demand is holding up fairly well in the face of 7%-plus rates, though some indicators are starting to show a slowdown. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index–a measure of requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents–is near its highest level in about eight months, but mortgage-purchase applications are down slightly (-1%) week over week. 

“My advice to sellers is to price your home fairly. Even though sellers are getting top dollar at the moment, they should price competitively to attract buyers from the start and avoid having to drop their price as stubbornly high mortgage rates eat into buying budgets,” said Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao. “My advice for serious buyers who can afford today’s costs is to shop for your dream home and accept that this year is probably not the time to find a dream deal. Price growth may cool slightly in the coming months if mortgage rates stay high or rates might fall slightly–but overall housing costs are likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future.”

For more on Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, including how current financial events are impacting mortgage rates, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page. 

Leading indicators

Indicators of homebuying demand and activity
Value (if applicable) Recent change Year-over-year change Source
Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate 7.39% (April 24) Up from roughly 7% one month earlier; near highest level since November 2023 Up from 6.59% Mortgage News Daily 
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate 7.1% (week ending April 18) Up from 6.87% a month earlier; highest level since November 2023 Up from 6.39% Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted) Decreased 1% from a week earlier (as of week ending April 19) Down 15% Mortgage Bankers Association
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted) Up 3% from a month earlier (as of week ending April 21) Down 9% Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents
Touring activity Up 34% from the start of the year (as of April 23) At this time last year, it was up 29% from the start of 2023 ShowingTime, a home touring technology company 
Google searches for “home for sale” Unchanged from a month earlier (as of April 21) Down 17% Google Trends 

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending April 21, 2024

Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas, and is based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision. 

Four weeks ending April 21, 2024 Year-over-year change Notes
Median sale price $383,725 5.2% All-time high; biggest increase since Oct. 2022, with the exception of the 4 weeks ending Feb. 11, 2024 and the 4 weeks ending Feb. 18, 2024 (5.3% increases)
Median asking price $415,925 6.7% All-time high; biggest increase since Sept. 2022
Median monthly mortgage payment $2,843 at a 7.1% mortgage rate 12.6% All-time high
Pending sales 86,786 -3.8% Biggest decline in 6 weeks
New listings 95,580 10.2%
Active listings 840,411 10.1%
Months of supply  3.2 months +0.4 pts.  4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions. 
Share of homes off market in two weeks  43.3% Down from 46%
Median days on market 35 Unchanged
Share of homes sold above list price 29.8% Essentially unchanged
Share of homes with a price drop 6% +1.7 pts.
Average sale-to-list price ratio  99.2% +0.1 pt. 

 

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending April 21, 2024

Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. 

Metros with biggest year-over-year increases Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases Notes
Median sale price Anaheim, CA (25%)

New Brunswick, NJ (14.9%)

Detroit (14%)

West Palm Beach, FL (13.4%)

San Jose, CA (13%)

Austin, TX (-0.9%)

Declined in just 1 metro

Pending sales San Jose, CA (14.2%)

San Francisco (6.4%)

Seattle (5.7%)

Milwaukee (5.2%)

Anaheim, CA (4.5%)

Nassau County, NY (-13.9%)

Phoenix (-13%)

Fort Lauderdale, FL (-12.5%)

Houston (-11.9%)

Riverside, CA (-11.4%)

Increased in 9 metros
New listings San Jose, CA (43.1%)

Jacksonville, FL (29.1%)

Phoenix (25.8%)

Sacramento, CA (24%)

Miami (21.9%)

Newark, NJ (-9.1%)

Cleveland, OH (-5.9%)

Chicago (-4.7%)

Milwaukee (-4.7%)

Providence, RI (-4.4%)

Detroit (-4%)

Declined in 6 metros

Refer to our metrics definition page for explanations of all the metrics used in this report.

Dana Anderson

Dana Anderson

As a data journalist at Redfin, Dana Anderson writes about the numbers behind real estate trends. Redfin is a full-service real estate brokerage that uses modern technology to make clients smarter and faster. For more information about working with a Redfin real estate agent to buy or sell a home, visit our Why Redfin page.

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