Homebuyer Demand Slides in September, with Tours Remaining Flat, Offers Down 12% in Latest Redfin Report

SEATTLE, Oct. 15, 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. September home tours were relatively flat, but the number of offers made by Redfin clients experienced the largest monthly drop in offers seen this year. The report showed:

• September saw a 0.2% month-over-month increase in home tours requested by Redfin customers, compared to a 3.5% increase during the same time last year.
• Offers made by Redfin customers were down 11.8% month over month in September, compared to a 4.5% increase in September 2012.
• During the last week of September, offers fell slightly by 0.3% from the week prior, despite the Fed's announcement that it would not taper its bond-buying program, which led average mortgage rates to fall from 4.5% to 4.3%.

September's significant decline in offers is a stark contrast to the 4.5 percent increase we saw during the same time last year, when the market was just beginning to gain momentum. The drop in offers is in large part due to a 31% plunge they took in the first week of September, reflecting significantly reduced demand during the Labor Day vacation and back-to-school week. Offers rebounded quickly thereafter.

Unlike last year, this autumn has been characterized by a great deal of uncertainty, in both the housing market and the overall economy.

"Last year homebuyers recognized that home prices were bottoming out, and with record-low interest rates and signs that the recession was ending, consumer confidence was high," said Aaron Drucker, Redfin's New York Market Manager. "Today our clients are concerned about fluctuating mortgage rates as well as the government shutdown and debt ceiling battle. When people feel uncertain about their wealth and the economy, buying a home falls to the bottom of their to-do list."

With several key economic decisions looming in Washington, it is difficult to imagine that homebuyer demand will increase this autumn. Redfin will continue to track home prices, inventory, market competition and consumer sentiment to anticipate demand.

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 Corporation