- Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN) reported that the median home-sale price in August rose 16.2% Y/Y to $380,271, but the lowest growth rate since February.
- Seasonally-adjusted home sales in August were down 6% Y/Y to 594,200, the first annual decline in 15 months. The M/M decline was -1.4%.
- Compared to August 2020, home sales fell in 44 of the 85 largest metro areas Redfin tracks.
- The biggest sales declines were seen in New Orleans, LA (-23%), Salt Lake City, UT (-16%) and Warren, MI (-14%).
- The largest gains were in seen in places where sales were somewhat depressed in August 2020, including New York (+65%), Honolulu, HI (+47%) and Nassau County, NY (+32%).
- Seasonally adjusted active listings fell 19% Y/Y. Only four of the 85 largest metros tracked by Redfin posted a Y/Y increase in the number of seasonally adjusted active listings of homes for sale.
- In August, 52% of homes sold above list price, rising 20 percentage points Y/Y.
- "When it comes to home prices in this market, what goes up stays up," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.
- Fairweather further added ""That's especially true in the Sun Belt; home prices are up more than 20% from last year in Austin and Phoenix. Even with these steep increases, homes in these areas are still relatively affordable, so these and other hot migration destinations are going to continue to attract homebuyers from the coasts. As workers change jobs en masse and enhanced unemployment benefits come to an end, we could see even more households relocate for affordability in the coming months."