Redfin: Pending Sales Jump in September, Existing Sales Lag

(Image courtesy of Redfin; Image courtesy of Thai Dang/pexels.com)

Redfin, Seattle, released a new report finding that pending sales rose 2.5% in September from August, the largest increase since January 2023.

And, on a year-over-year basis, they rose 3.1%, the biggest spike since May 2021.

“September showed that there are buyers and sellers who are ready to jump into the market–when the conditions are right,” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa. “Most buyers who went under contract last month did so when mortgage rates were falling and before two major hurricanes devastated much of the South. We’re closely watching October data to see whether the recent increase in rates and widespread devastation from the storms causes the market to slow back down.”

However, closed sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, down by 0.5% month-over-month and 3% year-over-year. They’re at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4,023,067. Existing homes sales are a lagging indicator, and many were negotiated before recent drops in mortgage rates.

Closed home sales numbers overall–including both existing and new homes–fell by 0.2% month-over-month in September and 1.6% year-over-year.

The median home sales price was $428,212, up 3.9% year-over-year.

Listings rose 0.8% from August, but were down 0.7% year-over-year. They’re also down 17.7% from September 2019 levels.

Active listings were up 0.2% from August, and up 14.9% year-over-year, but remain 23.1% below pre-pandemic numbers.

The typical home that sold in September was on the market for 39 days, up from 33 days in 2023.