New Real Estate Listings Fall as Housing Market Cools, Redfin Says

New listings declined 1.7 percent in the four weeks ending Dec. 7, a period when activity normally cools but which this year saw an unusually sharp pullback, Redfin said on Dec. 11.

Many homeowners are choosing to delay selling because demand has weakened and economic uncertainty remains high, it said.

“Some would-be sellers are sitting tight because the market is flat,” said Josh Felder, Redfin’s agent in San Francisco. “That’s partly because we’re heading into the normal seasonal slowdown, and partly because prospective sellers and house hunters are watching and waiting to see what’s going to happen next year with rates, the stock market, and tariffs.”

Pending home sales fell 4.1 percent from a year earlier, the biggest drop in 10 months, and homes that did sell went under contract in a median 51 days—roughly a week longer than last year.

Higher housing costs and concerns about the broader economy have kept many potential buyers on the sidelines despite a recent drop in mortgage rates.

The median home-sale price rose 2 percent year over year, supported by tight inventory, while the average weekly 30-year mortgage rate recently fell to its lowest level in more than a year, though still above 6 percent.

Daily and weekly averages in early December hovered just above 6 percent, the lowest levels in over a year. Mortgage-purchase applications edged down from the prior week but were sharply higher than a year ago.

Detroit saw the strongest price growth, rising 12.6 percent from last year, followed by Pittsburgh (11.6 percent) and Cleveland (9.6 percent).

Dallas recorded the steepest decline, with prices down 5.1 percent, and other Sun Belt markets, including Fort Worth (down 4.9 percent), Jacksonville (down 4.8 percent), Seattle (down 4.5 percent), and Sacramento (down 4.4 percent), also posted drops.

“Investor activity is stuck in neutral because profits are harder to come by, more homes are selling at a loss, and the rental market has softened,” Sheharyar Bokhari, Redfin senior economist, said in the report. “Investors aren’t completely retreating, but they’re not driving the housing market forward.”