The housing market is in flux right now, thanks to high mortgage rates, persistent inflation, and economic uncertainty, according to Redfin's 2022 report.
The technology-powered real estate brokerage ranked 100 of the most populous metropolitan areas in the United States using the following metrics:
- prices
- price drops
- supply
- pending sales
- sale-to-list ratio
- speed of home sales
The study found that the markets cooling off the fastest from February 2022 to August 2022 were almost all on the West Coast.
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No. 1 city where the housing market is cooling the fastest: Seattle, WA
According to Redfin's report, Seattle's housing market is cooling off faster than any other in the country.
Homebuyer demand and competition are down in the Washington state city. About 34% fewer homes sold within two weeks in August than a year earlier.
Money Report
Home prices are also falling, with the typical property selling for 2% less in August than a month earlier.
These stats indicate that Seattle buyers have more to choose from, and homes are taking longer to sell.
Tacoma, about 35 miles south of Seattle, is also among the top 10 markets cooling fastest.
"A lot of sellers aren't able to get the price they want because buyers don't want to compete with other offers when mortgage rates are double what they were a year ago," Seattle Redfin agent David Palmer said in the report.
"That means there are fewer sellers listing their homes and fewer buyers making offers on the ones that do hit the market."
Top 10 cities where housing markets are cooling the fastest in 2022
- Seattle, WA
- Las Vegas, NV
- San Jose, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Sacramento, CA and Denver, CO (tie)
- --
- Phoenix, AZ
- Oakland, CA
- North Port, FL
- Tacoma, WA
Las Vegas, Nevada ranked second on the list — home prices in the city were down 3% in August from the month before and about 26% fewer homes sold within two weeks than a year earlier.
Coming in third is San Jose, CA, where according to Redfin's report, the housing market has likely cooled off because the Fed's rate hikes and rising mortgage rates have made it more difficult to afford a home there.
"These are all places where homebuyers are feeling the sting of rising home prices, higher mortgage rates, and inflation very sharply. They're slowing down partly because so many people have been priced out and partly because last year's record-low rates made them unsustainably hot," Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather stated in the report.
"The good news is that the slowdown is dampening competition and giving those who can still afford to buy more negotiating power."
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