Redfin: 2022 Kicks Off Hotter Than Last Year

Redfin, Seattle, said home buyer activity could blow out previous records—if there were enough inventory to satisfy demand.

Redfin reported new listings fell 12% year over year, sending the total number of homes for sale down 29% to a record low during the four weeks ending January 16. Constricted by supply, pending sales rose by just 1%.

Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said one ray of hope for buyers is new construction—housing starts and building permits increased to a nine-month high in December.

“2022 started off more competitive than 2021, but mortgage rates have now risen enough that they may become more of a deterrent than a motivator for homebuyers,” Fairweather said. “In the next few weeks, we may start to see signs that some buyers are backing off. This is the silver lining for the most committed homebuyers who may benefit from less intense competition in this supply-constrained market.”

Key housing market takeaways for 400+ U.S. metro areas for the week ending Jan. 16:

•           The median home sale price rose by 14% year over year to $358,500.

•           The median asking price of newly listed homes increased 12% year over year to $349,950.

•           Pending home sales rose by 1% year over year.

•           New listings of homes for sale fell 12% from a year earlier.

•           Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell 29% year over year, dropping to a record-low 445,000.

•           The share of homes that went under contract that had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market rose to 41%, above the 36% rate of a year earlier.

•           32% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, up from 27% a year earlier.

•           Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 28 days, down from 35 days a year earlier.

•           41% of homes sold above list price, up from 33% a year earlier.

•           On average, 2.4% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, up 0.3 percentage points from the same time in 2021.

•           The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices, was 100.3%.

•           The Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index fell 2% during the week ending January 16 and was up 15% from a year earlier.