Monthly Mortgage Payments Fall; New Listings Post Biggest Annual Uptick in Over 2 Years

Housing payments have declined for the fifth week in a row, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The typical U.S. homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment was $2,575 during the four weeks ending November 26, down $164 from a peak of $2,739 last month but up 13% year over year.

Monthly payments are falling from their peak because mortgage rates are falling from their peak. The weekly average 30-year mortgage rate is 7.29%, down from a high of 7.79% in October, and the daily average is 7.13% as of November 29, its lowest level since the start of September. Rates have declined enough to offset rising home prices; the median sale price is up 4%. Prices are up because inventory is low; the total number of homes for sale is down 7% year over year. But there is hope for buyers wanting more homes to choose from: New listings are up 6%, the biggest year-over-year uptick in over two years. Buyers are taking note of slightly improved conditions: Mortgage-purchase applications are up 5% week over week.

“Mortgage rates are dropping due to easing inflation and investors betting the Fed will cut interest rates sooner than expected,” said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. “Declining rates, along with a sizable year-over-year increase in new listings, are leading to more favorable conditions for some buyers. My advice for serious homebuyers is to compare housing costs to recent highs instead of long-ago lows. Housing costs are at their lowest level in three months, and it’s unlikely they will drop significantly anytime soon. That makes it a relatively good time to lock in a rate.”

Leading indicators

Indicators of homebuying demand and activity
	Value (if applicable)	Recent change	Year-over-year change	Source
Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	7.13% (Nov. 29)	Down from 7.3% a week earlier; near lowest level since start if September	Up from 6.62%	Mortgage News Daily
Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate	7.29% (week ending Nov. 22)	Down from two-decade high of 7.79% a month earlier; fourth straight week of declines	Up from 6.61%	Freddie Mac
Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)		Up 5% from a week earlier (as of week ending Nov. 24)	Down 19%	Mortgage Bankers Association
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted)		Down 2% from a month earlier (as of the week ending Nov. 26)	Down 5%	Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents
Google searches for “home for sale”		Down 13% from a month earlier (as of Nov. 25)	Flat	Google Trends
Touring activity		Down 38% from the start of the year (as of Nov. 23)	At this time last year, it was down 40% from the start of 2022	ShowingTime, a home touring technology company

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending November 26, 2023 Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas, and is based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision.
	Four weeks ending November 26, 2023	Year-over-year change	Notes
Median sale price	$364,730	4.2%	Prices are up partly because elevated mortgage rates were hampering prices during this time last year
Median asking price	$371,225	6%
Median monthly mortgage payment	$2,575 at a 7.29% mortgage rate	13%	Down $164 from all-time high set a month earlier. Lowest level in 3 months.
Pending sales	61,217	-6.9%
New listings	64,576	5.8%	Biggest uptick in over two years. The increase is partly because new listings were falling at this time last year.
Active listings	856,016	-7%	Smallest decline since June
Months of supply	4.2 months	+0.1 pt.	4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions
Share of homes off market in two weeks	33.7%	Up from 30%
Median days on market	35	-2 days
Share of homes sold above list price	27.3%	Up from 26%
Share of homes with a price drop	5.7%	+0.3 pts.
Average sale-to-list price ratio	98.8%	+0.4 pts.	Lowest level since April

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending November 19, 2023 Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy.
	Metros with biggest year-over-year increases	Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases	Notes
Median sale price	Anaheim, CA (19.3%) San Diego, CA (13%) Cincinnati, OH (12.3%) Miami (10.5%) Providence, RI (9.9%)	Austin, TX (-9.2%) San Antonio, TX (-1.7%) Portland, OR (-1.3%) Detroit (-0.8%) Houston (-0.5%) Nashville, TN (-0.2%) Denver (-0.1%)	Declined in 7 metros
Pending sales	San Jose, CA (15.3%) Columbus, OH (3.7%) Detroit (1.3%)	Cincinnati, OH (-21.9%) New York (-18.7%) New Brunswick, NJ (-15.4%) Providence, RI (-15.3%) Portland, OR (-14.1%)	Increased in 3 metros
New listings	Orlando, FL (22.5%) San Jose, CA (21.5%) Phoenix (16.9%) West Palm Beach, FL (16.7%) Houston (13.4%)	Atlanta (-14.9%) San Francisco (-11.7%) Seattle (-11%) Providence, RI (-8.4%) Portland, OR (-6.8%)	Declined in 14 metros