The
real
estate
industry
illuminati
believe
that

mortgage
rates
dropping
below
6%
will
get
housing
markets
moving
again,
but
there’s

growing
evidence
that
the
recent
decline
in
rates
is
already
doing
so.

Redfin’s
Homebuyer
Demand
Index
—
which
measures
homebuyer
requests
for
agent
services
like
home
tours
—
was
up
9%
month
over
month
at
the
end
of
September,
hitting
its
highest
level
since
April.
Mortgage
rate
lock-in
activity
was
also
double
what
it
was
a
month
earlier.

While
mortgage
rates
haven’t
moved
since
the

Federal
Reserve’s

half-point
interest
rate
cut
last
month
month,
the
news
of
the
cut
reached
a
lot
of
people
who
didn’t
know
mortgage
rates
had
already
dropped.

“There’s
no
doubt
demand
has
picked
up
since
the
Fed’s
interest-rate
cut,”
Phoenix-area
agent
Max
Shadle
said
in
a
statement.
“I’m
seeing
much
more
traffic
at
my
listings.
Falling
rates
are
an
incentive
for
homeowners
to
sell,
too,
because
they
know
demand
is
coming
back
and
they
feel
less
locked
in
by
their
relatively
low
rate.
But
many
people
still
have
an
ultra-low
mortgage
rate
from
a
few
years
ago,
and
they’re
not
quite
ready
to
let
go.”

Redfin
is
also
observing
a
change
in

home
sales.
According
to
its
data,

pending
sales
increased
on
a
year-over-year
basis
in
27
of
the
50
most
populous
metro
areas.
At
the
national
level,
pending
sales
turned
flat
after
nine
straight
months
of
declines.

Phoenix,
a
market
that
has
slowed
considerably
after
an
intense
post-pandemic
boom,
experienced
a
13%
increase
in
pending
sales,
the
most
of
any
of
the
50
metros.
San
Jose
(+12%)
and
Portland,
Oregon
(+10%)
—
two
other
markets
that
have
been
cold
—
showed
large
increases.

The
report
said
that

Florida
is
showing
huge
declines
in
demand
as
a
result
of

climate-related
events,
rising
insurance
costs
and
higher
homeowners
association
fees.
West
Palm
Beach
(-18%),
Fort
Lauderdale
(-16%)
and
Miami
(-16%)
posted
large
declines
in
pending
sales.

Redfin’s
report
tracks
with
a
number
of
others
that
show
positive
signs
of
homebuyer
demand.

According
to

Altos
Research
data,

pending
home
sales
rose
6.4%
year
over
year
at
the
end
of
September,
bucking
a
seasonality
trend
in
which
sales
start
to
recede
in
the
fall.
The

Mortgage
Bankers
Association
(MBA)
reported
that

mortgage
applications
hit
their
highest
level
in
more
than
two
years,
while
the

Redfin
homebuyer
index
from
last
week
showed
similar
results
to
the
new
one.

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