In December, the median mortgage payment for American homeowners was $2,361 — down 14% from October — according to a report from Redfin.
Moreover, early-stage homebuying demand is picking up as buyers take advantage of lower interest rates and a larger inventory.
“There have been more tours and more offers on my listings since mortgage rates started declining,” Las Vegas Redfin Premier agent Shay Stein said in a news release. “It’s all about perspective. Two years ago, buyers would have cried about a 6% mortgage rate. Now, they’re happy they’ve dropped down to the mid-6’s.”
The median mortgage payment in December was down $372, its lowest mark in almost a year, Redfin reported. And the company’s Homebuyer Demand Index — a seasonally adjusted measure of requests for tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents — is up 10% from a month ago to its highest level since August.
Nationwide, pending sales are down 3% annually — the smallest decrease in two years.
Redfin data shows the Dallas area in December saw an 11.3% year-over-year increase in pending sales and a 16.4% jump in new listings over the same period.
The Fort Worth area experienced a 3.1% year-over-year decrease in median sale price.
The Dallas Express reported that daily average mortgage rates fell to just over 6.6%, the lowest level since May 2023, while the average rate on a 15-year contract hit 6.06%.
Based in Seattle, Redfin helps prospective homebuyers through brokerage, lending, rentals, renovation services, and title insurance.