September marked the 28th consecutive month of year-over-year inventory declines
The new Housing Demand Index published by Refin saw housing demand skyrocket by 27.7% in 2017 as compared with 2016.
The numbers for September came in basically flat except in some regions such as Seattle for the past 4 months, making this a very sustained market, with demand higher than at any other time since February 2013.
This index is based on calculations of the number of Redfin customers requesting home tours and writing offers. This translates into 100 on the index representing the historical average for the three-year period from January 2013 to December 2015.
The report show that demand drifted higher from 126 in July to 127 in August. Refin attributes the horizontal trend to the continued housing shortage (inventory) and sustained prices for properties. The findings also indicated that the number of Redfin customers touring and writing offers was basically even from July to August, but increased year over year.
Across the 15 metros covered by the Demand Index, there were 13.9% fewer homes for sale in August than there were a year prior, and there was a 2.7% decline in new listings. August marked the 27th consecutive month of year-over-year inventory declines in these markets.
Overall, the reasons for the flat-line given by Redfin are the following conditions:
■ High consumer confidence
■ Low interest rates
■ Sustained homebuyer demand
■ Sparse inventory
Compared to 2016, 42.3% more buyers requested tours in August 2017 and there were 8.2% more offers written.
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