Redfin Corp. said Friday home offers written by its agents that faced competition declined to 57.8% in May, the lowest level since February 2021. That was down from 60.9% in April and from a post-pandemic peak of 68.8% a year ago. The online real estate services platform said the number of bids that an average home in a bidding war received dropped to 5.3 in May from 6.8 in April, and down from 7.4 a year ago. “Homebuyer competition is cooling because rising mortgage rates and surging home prices have made homebuying less feasible for many Americans,” Redfin said. The company said the typical mortgage payment for a home buyer has increased to $2,514, up 49% from a year ago as mortgage rates have soared. Shares of Redfin, which announced layoffs earlier this week amid a slowing housing market, edged up 0.3% in premarket trading, after plunging 34.5% amid a six-day losing streak to Thursday’s record-low close of $7.24. “Homes are now getting one to three offers, compared with five to 10 two months ago and as many as 25 to 30 six months ago,” said Jennifer Bowers, a Redfin real estate agent in Nashville. Redfin’s stock has plummeted 81.1% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has dropped 23.1%.
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