New listings and pending home sales are improving. But the homes that do go under contract are taking a long time to do so.
New listings of U.S. homes for sale rose about 1% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending January 25, the first increase in more than two months.
There are a few key reasons new listings are starting to improve:
- Homebuying demand is improving, too. U.S. pending home sales fell 1.6% year over year, the smallest decline in nearly two months, and mortgage-purchase applications are sitting near their highest level in three years. Some house hunters are coming out of the woodwork because housing costs are declining–the median monthly housing payment is down 6.6% from a year ago–and sellers are taking notice of the uptick in demand.
- Lower mortgage rates. The weekly average mortgage rate is 6.09%, up slightly from last week but still near the lowest level in three years. In addition to attracting some house hunters, lower rates are easing the mortgage rate lock-in effect and motivating some homeowners to sell.
While slightly more sellers and buyers are coming off the sidelines, homes are still taking a long time to sell. The typical home that sold in January took 63 days to go under contract–a week longer than last year and the longest span in six years. House hunters are able to take their time because it’s a buyer’s market, with hundreds of thousands more home sellers than buyers.
“Buyers are more serious than they were a few months ago; they’re looking at every listing and meticulously comparing the pros and cons of each one,” said Connie Durnal, a Redfin Premier agent in Dallas. “Buyers are able to take their time and be picky because there are a lot of listings; bidding wars are few and far between. Sellers who need to move know they need to be realistic; some are willing to negotiate prices down and make concessions like repairs, especially because they’re competing with builders of new construction.”
For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.
Leading indicators
| Indicators of homebuying demand and activity | ||||
| Value (if applicable) | Recent change | Year-over-year change | Source | |
| Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate | 6.16% (Jan. 28) | Up from 3-year low roughly 3 weeks ago | Down from 7.12% | Mortgage News Daily |
| Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate | 6.09% (week ending Jan. 22) | Up from 6.06% a week earlier, but still near lowest level in 3 years | Down from 6.96% | Freddie Mac |
| Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted) | Down 0.4% from a week earlier (as of week ending Jan. 23) | Up 18% | Mortgage Bankers Association | |
| Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted) | Down about 9% from a month earlier (as of week ending Jan. 25) | Down 17% | A measure of tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents | |
| Google searches of “homes for sale” | Up about 10% from a month earlier (as of Jan. 26) | Up about 4% | Google Trends | |
Key housing-market data
| U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending Jan. 25, 2025
Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas and are based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision. |
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| Four weeks ending Jan. 25, 2025 | Year-over-year change | Notes | |
| Median sale price | $378,750 | 0.8% | |
| Median asking price | $396,101 | 0.1% | |
| Median monthly mortgage payment | $2,496 at a 6.09% mortgage rate | -6.6% | |
| Pending sales | 60,572 | -1.6% | Smallest decline since 4 weeks ending Dec. 7 |
| New listings | 69,655 | 0.8 | First increase since 4 weeks ending Nov. 16 |
| Active listings | 985,883 | 0.6% | Smallest increase in over 2 years |
| Months of supply | 5.5 | +0.1 pts. | 4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions |
| Share of homes off market in two weeks | 23.8% | Down from 25% | |
| Median days on market | 63 | +7 days | Longest in at least 3 years |
| Share of homes sold above list price | 19.2% | Down from 21% | |
| Average sale-to-list price ratio | 97.7% | Down from 98% | |
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Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending Jan. 25, 2025 Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Metros with biggest year-over-year increases | Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases |
Notes |
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| Median sale price | Milwaukee (14.1%)
Cleveland (11%) Philadelphia (10.2%) Detroit (8.7%) Nassau County, NY (7.1%) |
San Jose, CA (-9%)
Portland, OR (-3.2%) Jacksonville, FL (-3%) Dallas (-2.7%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (-2.4%) |
Declined in 16 metros |
| Pending sales | Columbus, OH (13.4%)
West Palm Beach, FL (8.7%) Nashville, TN (6.5%) Washington, D.C. (5%) Baltimore (4.4%) |
San Jose, CA (-25.9%)
Oakland, CA (-25.9%) San Francisco (-24.9%) Minneapolis (-19.2%) Seattle (-19%) |
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| New listings | Baltimore (18.3%)
San Jose, CA (15.4%) Cincinnati (15.2%) Pittsburgh (11.5%) Washington, D.C. (7.1%) |
Jacksonville, FL (-16.1%)
Fort Lauderdale, FL (-15.6%) San Francisco (-14.5%) Oakland, CA (-13.5%) San Diego (-13.4%) |
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Refer to our metrics definition page for explanations of all the metrics used in this report.
