Monthly Payments Hit Record–and Costs Will Likely Stay High on Inflation News

Housing Market Update: Monthly Payments Set New Record–and Buyers’ Costs Will Likely Stay High on Inflation News

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Daily average mortgage rates reached their highest level in nearly five months following Wednesday’s hotter-than-expected inflation report,  which will likely keep mortgage rates elevated for the foreseeable future. 

The median monthly U.S. housing payment hit an all-time high of $2,747 during the four weeks ending April 7, up 11% from a year earlier. Housing payments are soaring because home prices and mortgage rates are high. The median home-sale price is $378,250, up 4.5% year over year and just about $5,000 shy of the record high hit in June 2022. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 6.82%, below the near-8% rates hit last October but still more than double pandemic-era lows. 

Prices are staying stubbornly high because there’s enough homebuying demand to prop them up. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index–a measure of requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents–is at its highest level since last July, and a separate measure of tours shows they’ve increased 33% since the start of 2024, much bigger than last year’s increase over the same period (that’s partly because Easter fell during this week last  year). And even though supply is picking up–new listings rose 14% year over year–inventory is still low compared to typical spring levels, meaning there’s competition for many of the homes that are on the market. 

Mortgage rates, the other factor driving up monthly housing payments, remain elevated because the Fed has kept interest rates high so far this year. Daily average mortgage rates jumped to their highest level since last November this week because the March inflation report was hotter than expected, after rising last week because the latest jobs report showed a stronger-than-expected economy.

“For homebuyers, the latest CPI report means mortgage rates will stay higher for longer because it makes the Fed unlikely to cut interest rates in the next few months,” said Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao. “Housing costs are likely to continue going up for the near future, but persistently high mortgage rates and rising supply could cool home-price growth by the end of the year, taking some pressure off costs.”

For more of Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, including how current financial events are impacting mortgage rates, please visit our “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 7.34% (April 10) Up from 6.91% two weeks earlier; highest level since November 2023 Up from 6.52% Mortgage News Daily 
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate 6.82% (week ending April 4) Up just slightly from 6.79% a week earlier Up from 6.28% Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted) Declined 5% from a week earlier (as of week ending April 5) Down 23% Mortgage Bankers Association
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted) Up 7% from a month earlier to highest level since July 2023 (as of week ending April 7) Down 6% Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents
Touring activity Up 33% from the start of the year (as of April 9) At this time last year, it was up 9% from the start of 2023 (last year’s increase was much smaller partly because this was Easter week in 2023) ShowingTime, a home touring technology company 
Google searches for “home for sale” Up 4% from a month earlier (as of April 6) Down 9% Google Trends 

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending April 7, 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 7, 2024 Year-over-year change Notes
Median sale price $378,250 4.5%
Median asking price $410,950 6.5% Biggest increase since Oct. 2022
Median monthly mortgage payment $2,747 at a 6.82% mortgage rate 11.3% All-time high
Pending sales 84,323 -4%
New listings 91,452 14.1% Biggest increase since June 2021 (year-over-year increase was large partly because Easter fell during this time period in 2023)
Active listings 819,031 8.2%
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  42.5% Down from 44%
Median days on market 37 -1  day
Share of homes sold above list price 28.4% Essentially unchanged
Share of homes with a price drop 5.8% +1.5 pts.
Average sale-to-list price ratio  99.1% +0.3 pts. 

 

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending April 7, 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 (22.2%)

West Palm Beach, FL (17.4%)

Pittsburgh (15.2%)

San Jose, CA (13.9%)

New Brunswick, NJ (13.9%)

San Antonio, TX (-1.7%) Declined in just 1 metro
Pending sales San Jose, CA (22.6%)

San Francisco (15.8%)

Cincinnati (5.7%)

Milwaukee (5.5%)

Seattle (5.4%)

Atlanta (-15.3%)

Houston (-13.5%)

Nassau County, NY (-12.1%)

Fort Lauderdale, FL (-11.2%)

West Palm Beach, FL (-10.9%)

Increased in 11 metros
New listings San Jose, CA (56.8%)

Sacramento, CA (39.2%)

Austin, TX (30.7%)

Jacksonville, FL (30.5%)

Oakland, CA (30.4%)

Newark, NJ (-3.1%)

Milwaukee (-3%)

Chicago (-2.9%)

Providence, RI (-2.2%)

Atlanta (-2%)

Cleveland (-0.1%)

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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