Home buyers on the West Coast found homes more quickly
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As mortgage rates drop and homebuying becomes more affordable, potential homebuyers have spent fewer days touring homes and closed deals more quickly than last year.
It took 73 days this winter for a typical buyer to find and close on their new home after their first home tour, faster by four days than during the same period last year and six days faster than its peak in winter 2016, according to a new report by Redfin.
The report analyzed home touring and offer activity among thousands of people who bought homes with Redfin agents throughout the US in the three-month period ending in February over each of the past five years.
"This year, there are more homes for sale relative to the number of buyers, so a buyer is more likely to have their first offer accepted, while sellers are having to wait longer for their home to sell," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "It's like a 1950s-era school dance with more boys than girls -- the girls can quickly find a dancing partner, but more boys are waiting around with no one to dance with."
Redfin’s report found that the biggest year-over-year drops in time buyers spent on their home searches were in Philadelphia (28 days faster), Houston (17 days), and Washington, D.C. (14 days).
On the flip side, Miami (17 days longer) and New York (13 days) saw the biggest upturns in days buyers spent looking for homes. Homebuyers in East Coast metro areas spent more time on the market this year than last year. Meanwhile, buyers in cooling West Coast markets found homes faster.
Redfin said buyers will see fewer homes in person and write fewer offers this year before finally landing a purchase. On average, buyers toured 10 homes this winter before closing on a home and made an average of about 1.6 offers, slightly down from last year, when the average buyer toured about 11 homes and made 1.8 offers.
Atlanta saw the largest cutback in the number of homes toured before buyers closed on their home. Homebuyers in that area toured an average of 12.2 homes in winter before finding a home, compared to 18.8 last year. .Buyers in Phoenix toured an average of 12.4 homes this winter, down from 16.3 homes a year ago.
"The housing market isn't as daunting for first-time homebuyers," said Fairweather. "If you put in a fair offer, there is a good chance that offer will be accepted. Also, because mortgage interest rates are lower than they've been in over a year, home-buying is more affordable, especially in expensive places like San Francisco and San Jose where home prices have fallen."
