New Home Listing Decline in Early January – First Drop Since July 2020

Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage reported today (1/15/21) that new listing of homes for sale were down -3% from a year earlier, the first decline since July of 2020. This as pending home sales increased by 35% during the same period. Year over year Redfin is reporting that the median home sale prices increased by 14% to $329,025. While active listing (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell -33% from 2020, to a new all-time low. For the week ending January 10^th, 2021, the seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index – a measure of requests for home tours and other services from Redfin agents – was up 40% from pre-pandemic levels in January and February of 2020. On top of that 38% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, well above the 27% rate during the same period a year ago. In prepared remarks to accompany the news release, Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said, “Buyers are likely disappointed by the lack of new homes listed in the past month,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “But that’s not stopping them from making offers on what is on the market, which is sending pending sales up. It’s looking like 2021 will see a housing market frenzy that will rival what we experienced in 2020.”