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Homes are being snatched from the market at a record pace, according to a new Redfin report, despite rising house prices and mortgage rates.
About 59% of the houses contracted had an accepted offer within two weeks of entering the market, and this is quite a high time since the brokerage service started to collect the data in 2012. track.
In the week ending March 28, 61% of homes sold within two weeks or less, according to the data. Meanwhile, just under half of all homes, about 47%, which have an offer within one week, accept an increase of 33% from a year ago.
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At the same time, the report revealed that active listings fell by 42% from the same period in 2020, which is an all-time low.
According to the data, more than 40% of the homes sold above the original asking price are a highest point and about 16% higher than a year earlier.
‘Sale’ signs sit a lot, as new construction of homes continues in a new neighborhood in Northbrook, Ill., Sunday, March 21, 2021. (AP Photo / Nam Y. Huh)
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The average home selling price was $ 335,613, another all-time high and an increase of about 17% compared to last year.
However, as prices rise, so do mortgage rates. The rate for a thirty-year mortgage has risen to 3.18%, the highest level since June.
According to Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather, the rise in prices and rising mortgage rates, coupled with the ‘dwindling number of homes for sale’, have made it harder for some to find an affordable home.
However, Fairweather has indicated that more affordable options could emerge following President Biden’s $ 2.3 billion plan to fix the country’s infrastructure.
“Biden’s infrastructure plan aims to encourage zoning for multi-family homes, which can increase the supply of affordable housing and provide even more people with a path to home ownership,” Fairweather said.
TRADING OF HOME SALES 10.6%, STOCK AT LOWEST RECORD
However, there is no guarantee that the incentives would be enough for local governments to change their zoning practices, he added.
Redfin analyzed 400 U.S. metro areas over the four-week period ending March 28 for the data. However, the brokers warned that the comparisons in the report “do not necessarily reflect how the housing market has changed over the past year” due to virus-related restrictions.
“Year-on-year comparisons may more reflect the fact that stay-at-home orders stopped a halt to household and sales activities this time last year,” the brokers said.