In September, pending home sales in the United States remained flat, marking a pivotal moment in the housing market after nine consecutive months of year-over-year declines. This insight comes from Redfin, a well-known real estate brokerage, which reported that the forward-looking indicator of home sales held steady compared to the same period in 2023 during the four weeks ending on September 29.
Notably, this is the first instance since January where pending sales did not experience a decline. Analyzing the performance across various metropolitan areas, pending home sales saw an increase in 27 out of the 50 most populous U.S. metros tracked by Redfin. This reflects the most significant share of gains since January.
The city of Phoenix led the charge with a notable 13% increase, followed by San Jose, California, which reported a 12% rise, and Portland, Oregon, showing a 10% increase. Meanwhile, the state of Florida continues to face challenges, with pending sales declining further due to its susceptibility to natural disasters and climbing insurance costs, according to Redfin’s data. Other indicators of demand, including home tours and mortgage-rate locks, exhibited positive trends in September as mortgage rates dipped to two-year lows.
According to data from Redfin, the Homebuyer Demand Index—which captures home tours and other services—rose by 9% sequentially, achieving the highest level since April. The increase in homebuying activity is also apparent in the figures for locked mortgage rates, which doubled in September compared to August.
Data from Optimal Blue indicates that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was recorded at 6.12% as of Thursday, per Freddie Mac's findings. The decline in mortgage rates has had a tangible impact on monthly mortgage payments, which decreased by 5.9% year over year during the four-week period ending September 29, now averaging $2,529.
This marks the most substantial drop since May 2020, nearly $300 below the peak reached in April. In terms of listings, new entries into the market were up 4.3% year over year, while the months of supply increased by 0.9 points to reach 4.2—the highest level seen since February. Active listings climbed nearly 17%, although this represents the smallest rise since April..