{"id":75273,"date":"2022-10-20T10:42:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T17:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/?p=75273"},"modified":"2022-10-26T14:45:39","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T21:45:39","slug":"housing-market-update-days-on-market-doubles-sales-drop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/housing-market-update-days-on-market-doubles-sales-drop\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing Market Update: Sellers\u2019 Time on Market Doubles From Spring as Buyers Wait for Prices and\/or Rates to Come Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home sales continue to decline and mortgage applications are at their lowest level in 25 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

U.S. housing market activity is continuing to slow down as mortgage rates sit at a 20-year high. Pending home sales and new listings both saw their biggest year-over-year drops since the start of the pandemic, dipping to levels roughly on par with April 2020. Mortgage applications fell to their <\/span>lowest level<\/span><\/a> in 25 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales are dropping more than listings. Sellers are still catching on to the prices buyers who <\/span>are <\/span><\/i>in the market are willing and able to pay in the face of near-7% mortgage rates. Homes are taking twice as long to sell as they did in the spring. A record share of sellers are dropping their asking price and the typical home is selling for 1% less than its final asking price\u2013the biggest discount since August 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith rates <\/span>sitting above 6.5%<\/span><\/a> for three weeks and no indication they\u2019ll come down before the end of the year, people are only buying and selling homes if they need to,\u201d said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. \u201cProspective buyers are waiting for prices and\/or mortgage rates to come down and sellers want to squeeze as much money out of their sale as possible. Homes will eventually sell, but it may take a few months, and sellers need to meet buyers where they are. That means lower prices and negotiations, including things like giving buyers a credit to buy down their mortgage rate and paying for home repairs. Prospective sellers may also consider renting out their home for a few months until demand recovers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBuyers should keep similar things in mind when they\u2019re doing the math of which homes they can afford,\u201d Zhao continued. \u201cTry negotiating down the sale price; now\u2019s the time to make what would have been considered a lowball offer six months ago. Ask for concessions and repairs to make up for high mortgage rates.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Leading indicators of homebuying activity:<\/span><\/h2>\n