According to a new report by RedFin, Americans are speeding up the time to search and tour homes before making a decision and putting in an offer.
With more homes on the market, prices growing at a slower rate and even falling in some markets, and less competition from other buyers, finding a home is a lot less stressful this year than it has been in recent years. When a buyer finds the home they want to make an offer on there’s now a greater chance that their offer will be the only one and that the seller will accept it. This has led to the shortest median home search length for buyers during the winter months in at least six years.
As the market is becoming more tenable for buyers, it’s becoming less favorable for sellers, who are waiting longer to secure a buyer this year. Nationwide, homes that sold in February spent a median 59 days on the market before going under contract, up two days from a year earlier, and following three consecutive years of acceleration.
Buyers this year are also having to see fewer homes in person and write fewer offers before successfully landing a home. Nationally, buyers toured an average of about 10 homes this winter before closing on a home, and made an average of 1.6 offers, compared to touring about 11 homes and making 1.8 offers a year ago.
Buyers’ Time on Market, 3-Month Median as of February
| Metro Area | Median Length of Buyer Home Search in Days (2018) | Median Length of Buyer Home Search in Days (2019) | Median Buyer Home Search Length (Change) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA | 69 | 74 | 5 |
| Austin, TX | 73 | 68 | -5 |
| Baltimore, MD | 71 | 68 | -3 |
| Boston, MA | 84 | 87 | 3 |
| Chicago, IL | 84 | 83 | -1 |
| Dallas, TX | 64 | 69 | 5 |
| Denver, CO | 78 | 68 | -10 |
| Houston, TX | 92 | 75 | -17 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 72 | 72 | 0 |
| Miami, FL | 62 | 79 | 17 |
| New York, NY | 115 | 128 | 13 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 116 | 88 | -28 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 66 | 57 | -9 |
| Portland, OR | 67 | 68 | 1 |
| Riverside, CA | 72 | 67 | -5 |
| Sacramento, CA | 83 | 71 | -12 |
| San Diego, CA | 70 | 68 | -2 |
| San Francisco, CA | 70 | 59 | -11 |
| San Jose, CA | 59 | 56 | -3 |
| Seattle, WA | 64 | 57 | -7 |
| Washington, D.C. | 83 | 69 | -14 |
| National | 76 | 73 | -3 |
It took 73 days this winter for a typical buyer to find and close on their new home after their first home tour, faster by four days than during the same period last year and six days faster than its peak in winter 2016, according to a new report by Redfin.