Denver was the Fastest Market; The Bay Area was the Most Competitive
SEATTLE– June 2016 marked the fastest, most competitive housing market since 2009, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. In June, the typical home went under contract in 41 days, the shortest time seen since Redfin began tracking the market in 2009, and four fewer days than last June. And 25.9 percent of homes went off the market in just two weeks, up from 22.6 percent last year.
The average sale-to-list price ratio hit 95.5, the highest level we’ve seen. This year’s speed and competition have been driven by an intensifying mismatch between supply of and demand for homes. Inventory is down 7.1 percent year over year, while home sales increased 4.3 percent from this time last year, sending months of supply down to 2.8 months, the metric’s lowest-recorded level. This indicates that buyer demand outstripped supply by the widest margin Redfin has ever tracked.
Several housing markets are reaching new competitive milestones of their own. In Denver, half of all homes were pending in just six days, down from nine days a year earlier. Seattle and Portland, Oregon tied for the next fastest markets with a median of eight days on market. Seattle has one month of housing supply, followed by Denver with 1.2 months of supply.
“Now that most Denver real estate agents have been navigating this tight-inventory, competitive market for a solid two years, a rhythm has emerged and just about every Redfin hot home that hits the market here follows it,” said Redfin agent Michelle Ackerman in Denver. “Homes are listed on Thursday, with a deadline for offers on Monday; many homes are technically under contract by Monday but that status is often not reflected in the MLS until Tuesday. So homes are actually selling even faster than reported.”
What will the second half of the year bring?
“It all depends on sellers,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Buyers have held up their end of the market, spurred by very low mortgage rates. But the lack of new listings continues to crimp overall activity, meaning that there’d be more sales if there were more people selling.”
To read the full report, complete with data and charts, please visit the following link: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/07/june-housing-market-was-the-fastest-and-most-competitive-on-record.html
Redfin also took an in-depth look at home prices, inventory and sales across neighborhoods for five cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
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 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 commission. Redfin serves more than 83 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.
