Housing Market Update: For the First Time in Nearly 2 Years, There’s No Major American Metro

Inventory is below typical April levels, driving home prices up. Continually rising mortgage rates are further eroding affordability–and this week’s Fed meeting confirmed that mortgage rates are likely to hold steady for the foreseeable future.

The median home-sale price rose from a year earlier or stayed the same in all 50 of the most populous U.S. metros during the four weeks ending April 28, the first time that has happened since July 2022. Nationwide, the median sale price rose to a near-record $383,188, up 4.8% year over year. Mortgage rates also continued climbing, with the weekly average hitting its highest level in five months. High prices and rates drove the median monthly housing payment to a record $2,890, up 15% year over year. 

Home-price increases were driven by affluent metros and a pair of more affordable places: Anaheim, CA, where prices rose over 20% year over year, took the top spot. It’s followed by Detroit (14.9%), San Jose, CA (13.6%), West Palm Beach, FL (13.4%) and New Brunswick, NJ (12.8%). The metros with the smallest price increases were in Texas and Florida: Dallas (unchanged), Austin (0.3%), San Antonio (0.6%), Fort Worth (1.9%), and Tampa (2.2%). 

Low inventory is driving up prices. New listings are up 15% year over year, but they’re still well below typical April levels: There were fewer new listings this April than any year on record except 2023 and 2020. The year-over-year increase is also inflated because of the Easter effect; Easter didn’t fall into the four weeks included in this year’s data, but the holiday did fall into last year’s comparable time period. Some homeowners are hesitant to list their homes because economic indicators point to interest rates staying higher for longer than expected, potentially exacerbating the mortgage-rate lock-in effect. 

Homebuying demand is softening as rates rise. Some Redfin agents are reporting that the recent uptick in mortgage rates is scaring buyers away, and mortgage-purchase applications declined 2% week over week. Still, there are enough buyers out there to keep prices propped up: Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index–a measure of requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents–is up 3% from a month ago, sitting near its highest level since August.

This week’s economic news keeps mortgage rates in a holding pattern. At their May 1 meeting, the Fed held interest rates steady, as expected, but kept open the possibility of rate cuts later this year. “The Fed meeting is unlikely to push mortgage rates down–but the good news is that it won’t push them up, either, which could have happened if the Fed took 2024 rate cuts off the table,” said Redfin Economic Research Lead Chen Zhao. “Even though housing costs shouldn’t climb much more, they will remain elevated for the foreseeable future, which could push more buyers away. But for serious house hunters who can afford today’s mortgage rates and find a home they love, jumping on it now isn’t a bad idea, given the fact that inventory is low and costs aren’t dropping anytime soon.”

For more on Redfin economists’ takes on the housing market, including how current financial events are impacting mortgage rates, please visit Redfin’s “From Our Economists” page. 

Leading indicators

Indicators of homebuying demand and activity

Value (if applicable)
Recent change
Year-over-year change
Source

Daily average 30-year fixed mortgage rate
7.41% (May 1)
Up from 6.91% one month earlier; near highest level since November 2023
Up from 6.73%
Mortgage News Daily 

Weekly average 30-year fixed mortgage rate
7.17% (week ending April 25)
Up from 6.79% a month earlier; highest level since November 2023
Up from 6.43%
Freddie Mac

Mortgage-purchase applications (seasonally adjusted)

Decreased 2% from a week earlier (as of week ending April 26)
Down 14%
Mortgage Bankers Association

Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index (seasonally adjusted)

Up 3% from a month earlier (as of week ending April 28)
Down 9%
Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index, a measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents

Touring activity

Up 33% from the start of the year (as of April 28)
At this time last year, it was up 28% from the start of 2023
ShowingTime, a home touring technology company 

Google searches for “home for sale”

Unchanged from a month earlier (as of April 29)
Down 14%
Google Trends 

Key housing-market data

U.S. highlights: Four weeks ending April 28, 2024

Redfin’s national metrics include data from 400+ U.S. metro areas, and is based on homes listed and/or sold during the period. Weekly housing-market data goes back through 2015. Subject to revision. 

Four weeks ending April 28, 2024
Year-over-year change
Notes

Median sale price
$383,188
4.8%
Just $73 shy of all-time high 

Median asking price
$420,450
7.7%
All-time high; biggest increase since Sept. 2022

Median monthly mortgage payment
$2,890 at a 7.17% mortgage rate
14.7%
All-time high

Pending sales
88,408
-3.4%
The decline in pending sales would likely be bigger if not for the Easter effect: Easter didn’t fall into the 4-week period ending April 28, 2024, but it did fall into last year’s comparable period

New listings
101,065
15.2%
Biggest increase in nearly 3 years, though that’s partly because of the Easter effect: Easter didn’t fall into the 4-week period ending April 28, 2024, but it did fall into last year’s comparable period

Active listings
856,350
11.8%

Months of supply 
3.4 months
+0.6 pts. 
4 to 5 months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions. 

Share of homes off market in two weeks 
43.9%
Down from 47%

Median days on market
34
Unchanged

Share of homes sold above list price
30.4%
Essentially unchanged

Share of homes with a price drop
6.2%
+1.9 pts.
Highest level since Nov. 2022

Average sale-to-list price ratio 
99.3%
+0.1 pt. 

 

Metro-level highlights: Four weeks ending April 28, 2024

Redfin’s metro-level data includes the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Select metros may be excluded from time to time to ensure data accuracy. 

Metros with biggest year-over-year increases

Metros with biggest year-over-year decreases
Notes

Median sale price
Anaheim, CA (22.8%)

Detroit (14.9%)

San Jose, CA (13.6%)

West Palm Beach, FL (13.4%)

New Brunswick, NJ (12.8%)

Prices were unchanged in Dallas

Increased or stayed the same in all metros 

Pending sales
San Jose, CA (15%)

Milwaukee (5.5%)

Cincinnati (5.1%)

Seattle (5.1%)

Columbus, OH (4.7%)

Phoenix (-13.8%)

Riverside, CA (-12.2%)

Atlanta (-11.9%)

Houston (-11.8%)

Jacksonville, FL (-11.3%)

Increased in 10 metros

New listings
San Jose, CA (53.2%)

Oakland, CA (34.4%)

Phoenix (28.6%)

Seattle (28.4%)

Miami (28%)

Milwaukee (-0.3%)
Declined in just 1 metro, partly because of the Easter effect described above

Refer to our metrics definition page for explanations of all the metrics used in this report.