Us homebuyer demand cools during summer

The real estate brokerage found that tours or properties decreased 3.5 per cent in July, while offers fell by 11 per cent.

Since peaking in April, Redfin’s Real-Time Demand Pulse found that customers touring homes and making offers has been on a steady decline, further indication that the overall housing market is cooling.

Looking at tours first, July saw a 3.5 percent month-over-month drop. During the same time period in 2012, tours were up 3.1 percent.

Offers this July were also down, falling 11 percent from June. During the same time period last year, offers were flat.

“Although there are finally more homes for sale to satisfy pent-up demand after months of historically low inventory, buyers are not responding,” reads the report. “This is probably due to higher interest rates and home prices, which together are pricing some buyers out of the market. Buyer fatigue after the cut-throat competition of spring and early summer is also a likely factor.

“Looking ahead to Fall, we will be watching to see if the downward trend in demand continues. Last year, home tours were flat through much of the year; offers on the other hand saw an upswing of 5.5 percent percent in September. Only time will tell whether buyers will regroup, rebudget and get back into the market next month, or whether the housing market will mirror the cooling temperatures of summer to fall.”