Income growth, slower home price appreciation, and falling mortgage rates all combined to ease housing affordability in the first quarter of 2019, running roughly even over the previous year.
In the first quarter of 2018, the share of for-sales homes in the U.S. did not post an annual decline for the first time since Q3 2016. Starter and trade-up home supply grew 3.5 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.
Redfin Direct, a new pilot program from the real estate brokerage, allows homebuyers to make their purchase without an agent. Launched in Boston in March, the program seeks to add more consumer choice, especially for first-timers.
Vacation markets were hit hard in the last housing downturn, and many buyers are now wondering if it's safe to invest in these properties now, particularly as home price growth slows down and supply is rising.
In April, 15 percent of offers written by Redfin agents on for-sale homes in the U.S. faced competition, posting a "dramatic" 45 percent year-over-year drop.
Once again, the Phoenix metro has the highest net inflow of home searchers hoping to move to the area, according to the latest quarterly Redfin data.
Following employment opportunities and more affordable housing markets, Millennials are increasingly heading to smaller cities like Durham, N.C., Grand Rapids, Mich., Oklahoma City, Omaha, and more.