Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index hit a new all-time high since at least 2017, suggesting strong ongoing housing demand during a time of year when the market typically slows. The Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index is a seasonally adjusted measure of requests for home tours and other home-buying services from Redfin agents and Redfin partner agents to whom the company refers business. The market also continues to speed up, with an increasing share of homes selling within two weeks. Demand is accelerating as the number of homes listed for sale is decreasing at a slightly slower rate than in 2019 and 2020. New listings are down 12% since six weeks earlier, but this is a smaller drop than the 18% decrease over the same period in 2019.
“The economy is recovering strongly and mortgage rates are still near all-time lows. Those two forces combined have caused homebuying demand to hit a record high,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “People who tried to buy a home in the spring are coming back for round two, only to find the market is still quite difficult because of a lack of homes for sale. A lot of homebuyers wish they had bought last year, now that it’s not just homes that are more expensive, but also gas, groceries and dining out. Many buyers today are limited to move-in ready homes because it is so difficult and expensive to purchase new appliances or find contractors to make improvements.”
Unless otherwise noted, the data in this report covers the four-week period ending November 14. Redfin’s housing market data goes back through 2012. Comparing today’s market with the pre-pandemic fall market of 2019 highlights how hot the market remains, even as most measures are settling into typical seasonal patterns.
Refer to our metrics definition page for explanations of all the metrics used in this report.
