New listings were also down, with some prospective sellers staying put as price growth slowed

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — Home sales dropped 19.3% year over year in July to their lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic, when the housing market was at a near standstill, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s the biggest annual decline in U.S. home sales in more than a year, a reflection of the continued cooling effects of 5.4%-plus mortgage rates and nationwide economic uncertainty.

Home sales dipped 4.1% from the previous month, the sixth-straight monthly decline. Some prospective homebuyers were sidelined because they were priced out of the market; others were wary of potential home-value declines in the near future.

Home prices increased at their slowest pace since June 2020, rising 7.7%. Price growth dipping into the single digits after two years of double-digit increases reflects months of slumping homebuyer demand, homes sitting on the market longer than before and dwindling competition.

Sellers also backed off, with many hesitant to sell for less than what they would have gotten at the height of the pandemic homebuying frenzy. Plus, many homeowners are staying put because they have a low mortgage rate compared to today’s rates. New listings dropped 13.5% year over year, the biggest decline in over a year. Many of the sellers who did list their homes had to settle for less. Twenty-one percent of sellers dropped their asking price in July, the highest share since at least 2012, when Redfin started tracking this data.

“The buyers who are still in the game are finally getting a break from bidding wars, which means they can be picky,” said Raleigh, NC Redfin agent Pam Lewis. “Three months ago, buyers were saying, ‘Get me a building with four walls and I’ll make it work.’ Now they have some choices. They don’t want a home if it doesn’t have the fenced-in yard or guest room on their wish list, and they want a $20,000 price reduction if a home has been on the market for more than a week. I’m telling buyers they’re not likely to see their property values decrease over time, but they may not appreciate as fast as homeowners have become accustomed to in the past few years.”

To view the full report, including charts and metro-level data, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-sales-drop-july-2022

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, instant home-buying (iBuying), rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 6,000 people.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

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