Homebuyer Demand Up 6% Month Over Month, Down 14% from Last July
San Diego Posted 30% Monthly Increase in Demand; Boston Demand Fell by as Much
SEATTLE – Homebuyer demand picked back up in July after posting month-over-month declines in May and June, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. The Redfin Housing Demand Index, based on thousands of Redfin customers requesting home tours and writing offers, increased 5.7 percent from June to a seasonally adjusted level of 94 in July. The jump in overall demand was driven by an increase in the number of Redfin customers requesting home tours, up 14.3 percent from June.
“Buyers continue to be persistent when it comes to giving homes a shot, checking out what’s coming on the market despite new inventory being few and far between,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “But strong tour growth isn’t translating into offer growth, so we’ll likely see a second lackluster month for sales in August.”
National Highlights
- The Redfin Housing Demand Index posted a reading of 94 in July. This represents a 5.7% month-over-month increase and a 13.8% year-over-year decline in homebuyer demand. July marked the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year declines in the Demand Index.
- The number of Redfin customers requesting home tours grew by 14.3% from June and by 15.7% from last year.
- The number of Redfin customers writing offers was down by 1.8% month over month and essentially flat year over year, up 0.5%.
Metro-Level Highlights
- San Diego posted the biggest month-over-month gain in homebuyer demand, up 30.1% in July.
- Boston posted the largest monthly decrease, with the local Demand Index down 29.8%.
- San Francisco saw the biggest annual increase in demand, up 54.8%.
- The biggest year-over-year decrease in demand was seen in Oakland, down 57.6%.
To read the full report, complete with data, charts, insights and methodology, click or paste the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/08/homebuyer-activity-picked-up-in-july-but-continues-to-fall-short-of-last-years-levels.html.
See Redfin’s data center for the latest updates on the Demand Index.
About Redfin Corporation
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 most accurate home-value estimate online, the Redfin Estimate. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $31 billion in home sales to date, 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.
