Homebuyer Demand in August Down More than Usual in Latest Redfin Report

SEATTLE, Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage, today issued its Real-Time Demand Pulse, the only report in the industry that analyzes housing market demand based on home tour and offer data. Both home tours and offers declined, making August the fourth consecutive month where demand has dropped. The report showed:

• August saw a 10% month-over-month drop in home tours requested by Redfin customers, compared to a 6.0% drop in August 2012. Week over week, tours were down 9.5%  compared to a 1.9% drop the same time last year.
• Offers made by Redfin customers this August also dropped, falling 7.5% since July, compared to a 4.3% drop the year before. Week over week, offers were down 0.9%, compared to a 0.7% gain in 2012.

A combination of factors likely contributed to the August decline in homebuyer demand. Mortgage rates and home prices continued to rise, pricing more buyers out of the market. August's Redfin Buyer Survey found that 63 percent of buyers said rising mortgage rates are impacting their ability to buy the home they want. Buyers also faced another month of low inventory and were likely feeling fatigued after continued bidding wars, causing them to pause or delay their home-buying plans.

This autumn, Redfin expects the level of mortgage rates to heavily influence demand. A spike in rates is likely to trigger a sharp drop in demand. On the other hand, if rates remain stable, demand is likely to flatten in the coming months.

To access the full report on Redfin's blog, click or paste the following link. http://www.redfin.com/research/reports/real-time-demand-pulse

About this Report
The Redfin Real-Time Demand Pulse is a monthly analysis of thousands of customers touring homes and signing offers in twenty markets across the United States. Redfin is the only major real estate broker storing data in one location about its agent tours and offers, enabling the company to project sales volume for the U.S. without waiting 30 – 45 days for sales to close, or an additional 15 – 30 days for them to be recorded as public record.

About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate broker that represents people buying and selling homes. Founded and run by technologists, Redfin has a team of experienced, full-service real estate agents who are advocates, not sales-people, earning customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions. Redfin's online tools feature all the broker-listed homes for sale, as well as for-sale-by-owner properties that don't pay brokers a commission. The company serves 22 U.S. markets and has closed more than $8 billion in home sales. In 2012, Redfin was named one of The DIGITAL 100: World's Most Valuable Private Tech Companies by Business Insider. Follow us on our blog (blog.redfin.com), Twitter (@redfin), and Facebook (facebook.com/redfin).

SOURCE Redfin