Redfin Reports Record-High Costs, Economic Unease Are Stunting This Spring’s Homebuying Season

With new listings rising and pending sales declining, Redfin agents suggest sellers set their asking price fairly from the start to attract buyers and avoid price drops

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — The median U.S. monthly housing payment hit an all-time high of $2,868 during the four weeks ending May 4, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s due to two key factors: Home-sale prices are up 1.8% year over year, and the weekly average mortgage rate is 6.76%, down slightly from mid-April but elevated well above pandemic-era lows.

Those record-high housing costs, along with widespread economic uncertainty, are stunting this spring’s homebuying season. Mortgage-purchase applications increased last week, but they’re down 6% month over month. Additionally, pending home sales are down 3.9% year over year, the biggest decline in three months. A holiday effect is also pushing down sales; Easter fell into this year’s four-week period, but not last year’s comparable period.

Still, some house hunters are hitting the pavement. Home tours are rising faster this year than last year, according to ShowingTime data, and Redfin agents in some parts of the country report competition for turnkey homes in desirable neighborhoods.

“April is typically a busy month, but spring is off to a slow start this year,” said Nicole Stewart, a Redfin Premier agent in Boise, ID. “There are still some prospective buyers who believe mortgage rates will fall soon, and they’re waiting for that to happen. Costs are so high that buyers who are moving forward with a purchase want the home to be perfect; they’re asking sellers for more repairs and negotiating more than usual. The move-in ready, beautiful homes that are relatively affordable are the exceptions: They’re selling quickly, sometimes with multiple offers.”

On the selling side, new listings are up 5.5% year over year. And the total number of homes for sale is increasing more, up 13.6% year over year, because sales are slow. Redfin agents suggest sellers set their asking price fairly from the start to attract buyers and avoid price drops.

For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.

Leading indicators

Indicators of homebuying demand and activity
	Value (if applicable)	Recent change	Year-over-year change	Source
Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	6.86% (May 7)	Up from 6.81% one week earlier	Down from 7.37%	Mortgage News Daily
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	6.76% (week ending May 1)	Up from 6.62% three weeks earlier, but down slightly from one week earlier	Down from 7.22%	Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)		Up 11% from a week earlier (as of week ending May 2)	Up 13%	Mortgage Bankers Association
Touring activity		Up 41% from the start of the year (as of May 5)	At this time last year, it was up 32% from the start of 2024	ShowingTime, a home touring technology company
Google searches for “home for sale”		Up 6% from a month earlier (as of May 5)	Up 10%	Google Trends
The Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index has been excluded this week to ensure data accuracy.

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending May 4, 2025 Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas, and are based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision.
	Four weeks ending May 4, 2025	Year-over-year change	Notes
Median sale price	$388,750	1.8%
Median asking price	$431,100	6.4%
Median monthly mortgage payment	$2,868 at a 6.76% mortgage rate	3.6%	Record high
Pending sales	88,821	-3.9%	Biggest decline in 3 months
New listings	107,604	5.5%
Active listings	1,072,599	13.6%	Smallest increase in over a year
Months of supply	3.9	+0.6 pts.	4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions
Share of homes off market in two weeks	40%	Down from 44%
Median days on market	38	+4 days
Share of homes sold above list price	27.5%	Down from 30%
Average sale-to-list price ratio	99%	Down from 99.4%

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending May 4, 2025 Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.
	Metros with biggest year-over-year increases	Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases	Notes
Median sale price	Newark, NJ (13.5%) Pittsburgh (8.8%) Detroit (8.7%) Philadelphia (8.7%) Nassau County, NY (8%)	Oakland, CA (-6.7%) Phoenix (-3.5%) Jacksonville, FL (-2.7%) Austin, TX (-2.1%) Tampa, FL (-1.6%)	Declined in 11 metros
Pending sales	Indianapolis (6.4%) Detroit (5.7%) Warren, MI (4.9%) Columbus, OH (4.4%) Virginia Beach, VA (3.4%)	Miami (-22.6%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (-20.3%) Anaheim, CA (-13.7%) San Jose, CA (-13.3%) West Palm Beach, FL (-13.2%)
New listings	Washington, D.C. (16.3%) Las Vegas (15%) Phoenix (14.4%) Denver (14.3%) Boston (14%)	San Antonio (-9.9%) Nassau County, NY (-8.6%) Orlando, FL (-5.4%) West Palm Beach, FL (-5%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (-4.4%)

To view the full report, including charts, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-record-high-housing-costs-sales-decline

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, and title insurance services. We run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our customers can save thousands in fees while working with a top agent. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.8 billion in commissions. We serve approximately 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.

Redfin’s subsidiaries and affiliated brands include: Bay Equity Home Loans®, Rent.™, Apartment Guide®, Title Forward® and WalkScore®.

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. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250508223354/en/

Contact Redfin

Redfin Journalist Services:

Tana Kelley

press@redfin.com

Source: Redfin