Pending home sales rose 9 percent in August, the slowest growth since June 2020, according to a recent Redfin report covering the four-week period ending Aug. 29. More homesellers started slashing their prices, which Redfin said is another sign of softening seasonal homebuyer demand.
Still, prices remained up 15 percent year-over-year, and the actual number of pending sales fell to the lowest level since April 2021.
“The housing market has clearly become slightly more favorable to buyers,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in a release. “Homes are taking longer to sell, which gives buyers more time to make thoughtful decisions about whether to make offers. Home prices have plateaued, so buyers shouldn’t feel rushed to buy before prices rise further. And the fact that more sellers are dropping their list price is a sign that sellers have to be realistic about their price expectations.”
According to the report, the median home-sale price increased 15 percent year-over-year to $359,983; and asking prices of newly listed homes were up 10 percent year-over-year to a median of $354,665, the lowest level since late April.
New listings of homes for sale were nearly flat (down .1 percent) from a year earlier. The number of homes being listed is in a typical seasonal decline, Redfin said, down 10 percent from the 2021 peak during the four-week period ending June 27.
Active listings fell 22 percent from 2020, and 48 percent of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, up from the 44 percent rate a year earlier. Also, 35 percent of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, up from 32 percent a year ago.