New home listings in the US hit their highest level in nearly four months, while demand cooled amid elevated housing costs, Redfin said Thursday.
New listings reached 376,235 units in the four weeks through Aug. 23 on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 0.4% from a week earlier and marking highest print since April, according to the online real estate brokerage.
Pending home sales dropped 1.1% week over week to 307,830 units during the same period, representing the lowest level since February. The total number of homes for sale increased 0.5%, marking the highest level since May, the report showed.
The median home-sale price grew 1.9% year over year to $400,649 in the four weeks ended Aug. 23. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 6.65% in the week through Aug. 20, up from 6.58% a year earlier and hovering near the highest level in 13 months, Redfin said, citing Freddie Mac data.
As more homes hit the market and high housing costs discourage prospective buyers, those who are in the market to purchase have more power to get a better deal, according to the report.
"Buyers have an opportunity to get a deal done before the market potentially picks back up after Labor Day," Redfin Head of Economics Research Chen Zhao said.
"House hunters should consider homes that have been listed for several weeks," Zhao said. "Sellers of those homes may be willing to accept an offer under asking price, provide concessions like a mortgage-rate buydown or make repairs based on an inspection."
Earlier this month, Redfin said the number of US homebuyers hit a record low in July, pushing the housing market further in buyers' favor amid ongoing macro uncertainty.
Earlier in the week, government data showed new home sales in the US decreased more than projected last month even as median prices moved lower.
