Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index is rising and mortgage-rate locks are jumping, with some buyers wading back into the market now that the election has passed and the Fed has cut interest rates for the second month in a row

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — Early indicators of homebuying demand show that buyers are returning after taking a hiatus in the lead-up to last week’s presidential election, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of tours and other buying services from Redfin agents, jumped more than 15% this past weekend to its highest level in nearly a year and a half (please note that this is based on only four days of data, from Nov. 7 to Nov. 11). Mortgage-rate locks for home purchases more than doubled from a month earlier as of November 12, according to Optimal Blue data.

The jump in early-stage buying activity reflects pent-up demand that’s now being unleashed. Redfin agents throughout the country reported that many house hunters took a break while they waited for the uncertainty surrounding the election to pass, and a Redfin survey from October found that nearly one-quarter of prospective first-time buyers were holding off until after the election. Now, even though mortgage rates are sitting near their highest level since July, home-sale prices are stubbornly high, and the typical U.S. housing payment is just $200 shy of its all-time high, some buyers are back. A separate Redfin survey, conducted just after the election, found that 22% of U.S. residents are more likely to consider moving now that the election is over.

Pending U.S. home sales rose 4.7% year over year during the four weeks ending November 10, in line with the increases we’ve seen over the last month. Pending sales are a lagging indicator; if this week’s uptick in early-stage demand continues, pending sales are likely to improve sometime in the next several weeks.

“There’s no question we saw homebuying demand bounce back this past weekend, but it’s bouncing back to the level we would expect with 7% mortgage rates and not much higher,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin’s economic research lead. “House hunting activity was much slower than expected this summer and early fall, especially given that rates dropped down to the 6% range. Buyers were waiting for the election to be over, and for the Fed to cut rates for the second month in a row. Both of those things happened last week, and now buyers don’t have much reason to wait–especially because we don’t expect rates to fall significantly anytime soon.”

On the selling side, new listings were unchanged from a year earlier. That’s the first time in a year they haven’t posted an increase, but it follows the listing trend we’ve been seeing for a month: For three of the last four weeks, listings increased by less than 1%.

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

Key housing-market data

To view the full report, including charts, please visit:

https://www.redfin.com/news/demand-bounces-back-after-election

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 $1.6 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.

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