[June 18, 2015]

Homes Selling at Fastest Pace in 2 Years, Redfin Reports

Homes were on the market only 28 days in May, down from 32 days in April, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Last month, 35.6 percent of homes went under contract within two weeks of their debut, just shy of the peak rate of 35.8 percent exactly two years ago in May 2013.

Even though homes sold more quickly, home prices didn't follow. May showed a significant slowdown in month-over-month price growth, up just 1.6 percent. That's relatively low for yearly price appreciation in May -- in each of the past five years, prices rose at least 3 percent. Year over year, the median price was up 6 percent last month to almost $279,900, a marked drop from the 7.7 percent increase in April.

Sales across Redfin markets rose 5.4 percent in May from the month before and 3.1 percent from a year earlier. For the last three years Redfin has reported a double-digit spike in homes sold in May; this year, an inventory shortage has kept a lid on that growth. Because of steady buyer demand, inventory has barely budged from last year's low levels. The number of houses, condominiums and co-ops for sale in March and April grew by less than 1 percent year over year; they dipped slightly in May by 0.4 percent.

Local Market Insights

Redfin also took an in-depth look at home prices, inventory and sales across neighborhoods for three cities: Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco.

• Washington, D.C., home prices continued their steady climb, rising 4.8 percent in May from a year ago. Home sales fell for the first time in three months, down by 5.2 percent. Meanwhile, inventory reached its lowest level since December at less than two months of supply.
• Chicago home prices rose 6.1 percent in May, slowing down from rapid appreciation earlier in the year. Sales rose nearly 11 percent from a year ago, and inventory reached its highest level in three years, up 18 percent from May 2014.
• The median home price in San Francisco hit a record high for the fourth-straight month, rising more than 24 percent in May from a year ago to $1.25 million. Sales were down 7.9 percent from last year, and inventory took a hard hit, down 11.4 percent from last year.

To read the full reports, complete with data, charts and insights from Redfin agents, please visit: a rel="nofollow" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redfin.com%2Fresearch%2Freports%2Freal-time-housing-market-tracker%2F2015%2Fmarket-tracker-march-2015.html&esheet=51126473&newsitemid=20150618005322&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redfin.com%2Fresearch%2Freports%2Freal-time-housing-market-tracker%2F2015%2Fmarket-tracker-may-2015.html&index=2&md5=2e37151d285156f2a52e7e7c67077919" rel="nofollow">https://www.redfin.com/research/reports/real-time-housing-market-tracker/2015/market-tracker-may-2015.html.

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About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a next-generation real estate brokerage that represents people buying and selling homes. Founded by technologists, Redfin employs a team of experienced, full-service real estate agents who are advocates, not salespeople, earning customer-satisfaction bonuses, not just commissions. Redfin.com features all the broker-listed homes for sale, as well as for-sale-by-owner properties that don't pay brokers a commission. Redfin also offers online tools, built by its own software engineers, that make the entire process of buying or selling a home easier and more fun. The company serves major markets across the U.S. and has closed nearly 20 billion in home sales. In 2012, Redfin was named one of The DIGITAL 100: World's Most Valuable Private Tech Companies by Business Insider.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150618005322/en/

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