Housing Demand Declines In October Due To Shortage Of Available Homes

After a hot summer, housing demand cooled off in October.

The Redfin Housing Demand Index dropped to a seasonally-adjusted level of 100 last month. A score of 100 indicates the historical average for the three-year period from January 2013 to December 2015. The index in September was 105, the highest figure since June 2013.

The index, which is based on Redfin customer activity, found that in October, home tour requests fell 3.7 percent, and the number of customers writing offers dropped 5.9 percent from September.

Redfin says that the shortage of homes on the market has negatively impacted buyer enthusiasm.

Across the 15 metro areas tracked by the Demand Index, the number of homes listed in October was 9.5 percent lower than a year earlier. Those numbers dovetail with the shortages of homes reported in the most recent Redfin Real-Time Housing Market Tracker.

By market, demand is booming in Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Boston, and declining in Oakland, San Diego, and Orange County, Calif. Denver’s demand index also decreased, partially due to having 22.3 percent fewer homes for sale compared to last year.

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