Home buyer demand may be cooling

Home buyer demand saw its smallest annual increase in months recently.

Home buyer demand in the U.S. may be cooling off, according to new data from real estate website Redfin.

Redfin launched a new housing demand index Thursday. The index, based on visits to Redfin.com listing pages and customer requests for home tours, measures housing activity prior to purchases. According to the index, home buyer demand was up by 13% year-over-year in June, the smallest annual increase since January.

“This year’s seasonal slowdown is more extreme than normal due to buyer fatigue over high prices and low selection, combined with gradually increasing mortgage interest rates,” stated a Redfin report. “Buyers are still in the market, but they’re setting boundaries on what they’re willing to pay.”

That may translate to a slowdown in price appreciation. Redfin forecasts that home prices will rise by about 4.3% in July, but just 2.2% in August.

Home sales, meanwhile, are expected to grow by 14.3% annually this month, and just 4.6% annually in August.

“Homebuyers are still touring in force, but they’re more price sensitive,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “Fewer are making offers, and when they do, they’re buying less expensive homes. The median list price of pending homes fell by $10,000 to $300,000 in just the last two weeks.”