New Listings Rise For First Time in 2 Months As Lower Mortgage Rates Perk Up Homebuyers

Key Terms

mortgage-purchase applications financial

Mortgage-purchase applications are requests submitted by consumers to lenders for home loans used to buy properties, as opposed to loans for refinancing existing mortgages. Investors watch the number and trend of these applications because they act like a real-time thermometer of housing demand and consumer confidence—rising applications suggest stronger home sales, construction activity, and related spending, while falling applications can signal cooling in the housing market and pressure on companies tied to mortgages and homebuilding.

redfin homebuyer demand index financial

The Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index measures how many people are actively looking to buy homes, based on online searches and home tour requests. It serves as a gauge of overall interest in the housing market, helping investors understand whether demand is increasing or decreasing. A rise in this index typically indicates stronger buyer activity, which can signal potential increases in home prices and market momentum.

months of supply technical

Months of supply measures how long it would take to sell all available homes at the current sales rate. It is calculated by dividing the total number of homes for sale by the number of homes sold each month. A lower number suggests a faster market with high demand, while a higher number indicates a slower market with more choices for buyers.

sale-to-list price ratio financial

The sale-to-list price ratio measures how much of a property's asking price is actually paid by buyers, expressed as a percentage. For example, if a home is listed at $300,000 and sells for $285,000, the ratio is 95%. This figure helps investors gauge the strength of the market: a higher ratio suggests buyers are willing to pay close to asking prices, indicating high demand.

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Redfin reports new listings and pending home sales are improving. But the homes that do go under contract are taking a long time to do so.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- New listings of U.S. homes for sale rose about 1% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending January 25, the first increase in more than two months. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket.

There are a few key reasons new listings are starting to improve:

• Homebuying demand is improving, too. U.S. pending home sales fell 1.6% year over year, the smallest decline in nearly two months, and mortgage-purchase applications are sitting near their highest level in three years. Some house hunters are coming out of the woodwork because housing costs are declining—the median monthly housing payment is down 6.6% from a year ago—and sellers are taking notice of the uptick in demand.
• Lower mortgage rates. The weekly average mortgage rate is 6.09%, up slightly from last week but still near the lowest level in three years. In addition to attracting some house hunters, lower rates are easing the mortgage rate lock-in effect and motivating some homeowners to sell.

While slightly more sellers and buyers are coming off the sidelines, homes are still taking a long time to sell. The typical home that sold in January took 63 days to go under contract—a week longer than last year and the longest span in six years. House hunters are able to take their time because it’s a buyer’s market, with hundreds of thousands more home sellers than buyers.

“Buyers are more serious than they were a few months ago; they’re looking at every listing and meticulously comparing the pros and cons of each one,” said Connie Durnal, a Redfin Premier agent in Dallas. “Buyers are able to take their time and be picky because there are a lot of listings; bidding wars are few and far between. Sellers who need to move know they need to be realistic; some are willing to negotiate prices down and make concessions like repairs, especially because they’re competing with builders of new construction.”

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	6.16% (Jan. 28)	Up from 3-year low roughly 3 weeks ago	Down from 7.12%	Mortgage News Daily
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	6.09% (week ending Jan. 22)	Up from 6.06% a week earlier, but still near lowest level in 3 years	Down from 6.96%	Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)		Down 0.4% from a week earlier (as of week ending Jan. 23)	Up 18%	Mortgage Bankers Association
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted)		Down about 9% from a month earlier (as of week ending Jan. 25)	Down 17%	A measure of tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents
Google searches of “homes for sale”		Up about 10% from a month earlier (as of Jan. 26)	Up about 4%	Google Trends

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending Jan. 25, 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 Jan. 25, 2025	Year-over-year change	Notes
Median sale price	$378,750	0.8%
Median asking price	$396,101	0.1%
Median monthly mortgage payment	$2,496 at a 6.09% mortgage rate	-6.6%
Pending sales	60,572	-1.6%	Smallest decline since 4 weeks ending Dec. 7
New listings	69,655	0.8	First increase since 4 weeks ending Nov. 16
Active listings	985,883	0.6%	Smallest increase in over 2 years
Months of supply	5.5	+0.1 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	23.8%	Down from 25%
Median days on market	63	+7 days	Longest in at least 3 years
Share of homes sold above list price	19.2%	Down from 21%
Average sale-to-list price ratio	97.7%	Down from 98%

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending Jan. 25, 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	Milwaukee (14.1%) Cleveland (11%) Philadelphia (10.2%) Detroit (8.7%) Nassau County, NY (7.1%)	San Jose, CA (-9%) Portland, OR (-3.2%) Jacksonville, FL (-3%) Dallas (-2.7%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (-2.4%)	Declined in 16 metros
Pending sales	Columbus, OH (13.4%) West Palm Beach, FL (8.7%) Nashville, TN (6.5%) Washington, D.C. (5%) Baltimore (4.4%)	San Jose, CA (-25.9%) Oakland, CA (-25.9%) San Francisco (-24.9%) Minneapolis (-19.2%) Seattle (-19%)
New listings	Baltimore (18.3%) San Jose, CA (15.4%) Cincinnati (15.2%) Pittsburgh (11.5%) Washington, D.C. (7.1%)	Jacksonville, FL (-16.1%) Fort Lauderdale, FL (-15.6%) San Francisco (-14.5%) Oakland, CA (-13.5%) San Diego (-13.4%)

To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-new-listings-increase-january

About Redfin

Redfin is a technology-driven real estate company with the country's most-visited real estate brokerage website. As part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), Redfin is creating an integrated homeownership platform from search to close to make the dream of homeownership more affordable and accessible for everyone. Redfin’s clients can see homes first with on-demand tours, easily apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage, and save thousands in fees while working with a top local agent.

You can find more information about Redfin and get the latest housing market data and research at https://www.redfin.com/news. For more information about Rocket Companies, visit https://www.rocketcompanies.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260129023877/en/

Contact Redfin Journalist Services:
Tana Kelley
press@redfin.com

Source: Redfin