Redfin Reports Some Good News For Homebuyers: Slower Price Growth, More Supply and More Bargaining Power

• Feb 20
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The median monthly housing payment remains near record highs, but slowing price growth, declining mortgage rates and a pileup of supply is giving homebuyers in certain parts of the country room to negotiate

Redfin Reports Some Good News For Homebuyers: Slower Price Growth, More Supply and More Bargaining Power

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(NASDAQ: RDFN) — The median U.S. home-sale price rose 3.7% year over year during the four weeks ending February 16, the smallest increase since September. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Additionally, the weekly average mortgage rate dipped to 6.87%, its lowest level of the year.

While typical monthly housing costs remain near record highs, decelerating price growth and gradually declining rates are among several small pieces of good news for house hunters this week. Here are the others:

• Homebuyers have more total inventory to choose from. There are five months of supply on the market, up from 4.1 months a year earlier and the most since early 2019 (except the 4 weeks ending January 26, when there were 5.1 months). Supply is piling up because listings are rising while pending home sales are falling.
• Buyers have more new inventory to choose from, too. New listings are up 4.2% year over year to their highest level for any comparable time period in three years.
• Buyers have more negotiating power. The typical home is selling for 2% less than its asking price, the biggest discount in two years. Additionally, the typical home that sells is taking 57 days to go under contract, the longest span in five years. A slow market in which the typical home is selling under list price means buyers in many markets have the opportunity to negotiate on prices and terms.

Some markets are more buyer friendly than others. For example, the coastal Florida market is tilting in buyers’ favor, while sellers are generally in the driver’s seat in some West Coast and Northeast markets. Additionally, these conditions may be short-lived as more buyers come off the sidelines. Home-touring activity is rising, according to both ShowingTime data and Google data, and Redfin agents in certain areas report that house hunters are gearing up for spring homebuying season.

“If a home needs work or it’s priced too high, it’s sitting on the market,” said Cody Brownfield, a Redfin Premier agent in Cincinnati. “That’s when a buyer has bargaining power. But updated homes that are priced right—especially those located in desirable neighborhoods with highly rated schools—are selling quickly, sometimes for tens of thousands of dollars over the asking price. It seems like every buyer is looking for the same type of house.”

Pending sales, listings are up in Los Angeles in aftermath of wildfires

In Los Angeles, pending home sales rose 7.4% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending February 16, making it one of just seven major metros where sales are increasing. New listings in Los Angeles rose 21.9%, the third-biggest increase in the U.S.

The uptick in housing market activity among both homebuyers and sellers likely stems from January’s Palisades and Eaton wildfires, which destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles. Some affluent buyers who lost their homes are now buying new ones, and some homeowners are selling to meet the demand. Additionally, some buyers throughout Los Angeles pressed pause on their house hunt in January, when many parts of life were overshadowed by the devastating fires, and are picking it back up now.

For Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page.

Leading indicators

Key housing-market data

To view the full report, including charts, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-good-news-for-homebuyers-2025

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, and title insurance services. We run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our customers can save thousands in fees while working with a top agent. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.6 billion in commissions. We serve approximately 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.

Redfin’s subsidiaries and affiliated brands include: Bay Equity Home Loans®, Rent.™, Apartment Guide®, Title Forward® and WalkScore®.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250220609325/en/