It’s been a slow start to Spring for the market, but finally some welcome news for buyers: mortgage rates fell below 7 percent for the first time in five weeks at the beginning of May. And 6.3 percent of current sellers are dropping their price, on average, the highest share in a year and a half.
For the four weeks ending May 12, however, pending sales were down 4.3 percent from the same time period last year, according to Redfin. New listings were up 10 percent annually, but they were essentially flat from a week earlier.
Per Redfin, the median U.S. home-sale price is up 4.7 percent year-over-year to a record $386,951, and the median monthly mortgage payment is $2,858, just $26 shy of the all-time high set in April.
Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents, was down 13 percent annually—hitting the lowest level in two months.