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Redfin Report: New Home Listings Fell Nationwide in April for the First Time in Nearly Two Years; Sales Slipped in the WestU.S. home prices increased 4.8 percent year over year in April, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. April marked the third consecutive month that home-price growth fell below the 12-month average of 5.6 percent. Home sales increased 2.5 percent and inventory fell 3.2 percent year over year in April, the seventh-straight month of declines. What stood out in April was a 1.1 percent year-over-year decline in new listings, the first such drop since August 2014. The retreat in listings growth was widespread, with nearly two-thirds of markets Redfin tracks seeing fewer new listings than the same time last year. The largest declines were concentrated in the Northeast, with Boston, New York and Philadelphia seeing year-over-year declines of more than 10 percent. "Trade-up buyers seem to be losing their mojo heading into the heart of the spring selling season," said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson (News - Alert). "Repeat buyers tend to list early because they are most often also looking for another home to buy in the near future. A slowdown in new listings reflects a lack of confidence on the part of the homeowner that they can find a desirable home to purchase. This triggers a domino effect down the supply chain that leads to lower sales in tight markets. West Coast cities like Denver, Portland and Seattle were prime examples of this in April." Home sales in many Western markets saw a year-over-year decline in April. In hot markets like Seattle, Portland and Denver, overall inventory remains at historic lows and, while demand has continued to increase, new listings have not. This has led to the most competitive conditions Redfin has tracked in these markets, with homes selling faster than anywhere else and with the lowest months of supply of any market in April. Bidding wars reached their highest level on record in Seattle in April, when 77.9 percent of offers written by Redfin agents faced competition, while the bidding war rate in Portland surged 68.5 percent, and in Denver it reached 66.7 percent. But even with strong buyer demand, the lack of growth in new listings has constrained sales in these markets. Despite the sales slowdown in Western markets, sales in all other regions were up year over year, with the Northeast region seeing the highest growth. Local Market Insights in April
To read the full report, complete with data and charts, please visit the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/05/national-market-tracker-april-2016.html. Redfin also took an in-depth look at home prices, inventory and sales across neighborhoods for five cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Washington, D.C.
Connect with Redfin About Redfin Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the customer's favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country's #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the industry's most accurate home-value estimate, the Redfin Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commission. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in home sales, and saved customers more than $335 million in fees, and counting. For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, subscribe here.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160519005438/en/ |
