Requests for home tours only increased slightly during the month
Demand for housing slipped month over month in March as fewer people made offers, according to the Housing Demand Index (HDI) released by Redfin.
The HDI fell 6.5% to 105 during the month, which marked the second straight month of declines. The index, which is based on home tour requests and offers made by Redfin customers, is adjusted for Redfin's market share growth. A level of 100 represents the historical average for the three-year period from January 2013 to December 2015.
Redfin found a 14.7% decline in the number of buyers making offers from February to March. Meanwhile, there was a 2.6% increase in the seasonally adjusted number of buyers requesting home tours.
"Abnormally late winter weather and an early Easter likely delayed homeowners planning to list their homes for sale in March," Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson said. "While inventory levels are still not nearly high enough to meet strong buyer demand, we do expect new listings to pick up in April and May."
On a year-over-year basis, the HDI dropped 3.8% from March 2017. The number of buyers who made offers dropped 17.1%, while the number of buyers who asked for home tours rose 6.2%.
The HDI also revealed that the number of home for sale across the 15 metros it covers fell for the 34th straight month. Supply fell 13.6% year over year in March. There were 7.3% fewer homes newly listed for sale last month than a year earlier. Redfin said, however, that an early read of inventory in the first half of April suggests that the number of homes for sale is increasing in line with seasonal expectations.
