Housing Notes: Tidbits From The Past Week

It was a busy week in mortgage and housing news, and here are a few of the news items that didn’t quite make it into The Mortgage Note:

GROWTH MODE: Redfin’s homebuying demand moved out of recovery mode and into growth mode, reaching a new peak. For the seven days ended May 17, demand was 16.5% higher than it was before the pandemic, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to Redfin’s latest weekly report.

COMPETITION: Another Redfin report found 41.1 percent of Redfin offers nationwide faced competition in the four weeks ending on May 10. In a handful of metros, the bidding war rate was above 60 percent.

AFFORDABLE SUPPLY: Record low interest rates have made buying a home more affordable this year, but only two of the top 100 metros – Des Moines, Iowa, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana – offer both affordability and an adequate supply of for-sale listings, according to a new analysis released this week by realtor.com.

BAY AREA: Meanwhile, the housing market in Oakland and suburban parts of the Bay Area is recovering at a faster rate than in San Francisco or San Jose, according to a new analysis from Redfin.

SEASONAL RENTALS: Faced with the prospect of lost income due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, many daily rental owners could be transitioning properties from Airbnb and Vrbo rentals to seasonal rentals, according to new research published by realtor.com.

HOMECATION: This Memorial Day weekend could mark the start of “homecation” season, as Americans reconsider their summer vacation plans and, instead, come up with creative ways to vacation at home. A new survey from Zillow conducted by The Harris Poll finds 38 percent of Americans plan to spend more time at home this summer compared to years past as a result of COVID-19.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!