Housing Market Update: A Record 52% of Homes Under Contract Within 2 Weeks

Median prices rose 15%, pending home sales were up 29%, and new listings fell 11% from the same period a year earlier.

Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas during the 4-week period ending February 7:

• The median home sale price increased 15% year over year to $318,750.
• Asking prices of newly listed homes hit a new all-time high of $334,770, up 10% from the same time a year ago. In a typical year, asking prices do not surpass the previous year’s peak until March.
• Pending home sales were up 29% year over year.
• New listings of homes for sale were down 11% from a year earlier.
• Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell 37% from 2020 to a new all-time low.
• 52% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, well above the 43% rate during the same period a year ago. This is the first time the four-week average has surpassed 50% since at least 2012 (as far back as Redfin’s data for this measure goes). During the week ending February 7, the rate was 57%.
• The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices, increased slightly to 99.3%—1.6 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
• For the week ending February 7, the seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of requests for home tours and other services from Redfin agents—was up 63% from the same period a year ago.
• Mortgage purchase applications decreased 5% week over week (seasonally-adjusted) and were up 17% from a year earlier (unadjusted) during the week ending February 5. For the week ending February 4, 30-year mortgage rates were unchanged at 2.73%.

“There is a serious lack of new listings, and although prices are through the roof, homeowners are reluctant to sell, because it’s so hard to buy again unless you are moving to a less expensive area where you can afford to outbid other buyers,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Sellers who are concerned about finding their next home are asking buyers for a rent-back agreement, which allows the seller to stay in the home until they can move into their next one. Offering a rent-back agreement can also be a winning strategy for buyers with flexible timelines.”