Are US homebuyers giving up hope?

The current state of the US housing market appears to be weighing heavily on potential homebuyers

Are US homebuyers giving up hope?

The current state of the US housing market appears to be weighing heavily on potential homebuyers.

With inventory tight, demand for homes in February was down 14% from January according to the Redfin Housing Demand Index.

"There are still plenty of people touring homes; there just aren't enough of homes to satisfy all the buyers who want to make offers," said Redfin head of analytics Pete Ziemkiewicz. "We've started off each of the past three years with inventory down double-digits from the year before, which has held back buyer activity until enough new listings hit the market to get the offers flowing in the Spring."

The index shows the number of potential buyers requesting tours fell 12.4% month-over-month, and those making offers dropped 18%.

Compared with February 2017, the Demand Index was down 6.5% with requests for tours down 2.9% and offers down 20.1%.

Supply was down 13.6% year-over-year and was the 33rd consecutive month of lower inventory.

The index tracks demand in the areas served by Redfin Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Oakland, CA; Orange County, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA, and Washington, D.C.