For brevity, this report doesn’t detail our support for other types of diversity, in age, political opinions, sexual orientation, military service, mental health or physical ability, but it’s important for us to attract talent of all types to Redfin.

Each December, Redfin reports on the composition of our overall workforce and our managers, by gender and by race and ethnicity. In April, we compare pay for women and men at the company in the same role. We’ve also published case studies on projects run by diverse teams, to highlight how diversity has led to more nuanced solutions to our business problems, and hosted an event on race and real estate, to talk about how agents and lenders can encourage communities to become more integrated.

The good news this year is that women’s representation increased across the board, and we made strides in hiring more Black and Latinx employees. For this analysis, we divide the company into three groups:

• Tech is comprised of software engineers, product managers and product designers.
• The field is comprised of agents, closing specialists and support staff.
• Business operations includes all the other functions, from marketing to finance to mortgage to program management.

In 2018 as in years past, there were more women than men at Redfin. In the field, this is unremarkable, as two thirds of Realtors nationwide are women. But we also have more women than men in business operations, and an unusually high proportion of women in our technology department.

About a third of our technologists are women, compared to 22 percent at Facebook and 23 percent at Apple. It’s nice to see the proportion of women technologists at Redfin increase from 31.7 percent in 2017 to 32.9 percent in 2018, but we’re still far from our goal of 50 percent, and making progress will get harder as the percentage of new hires in most headquarters departments slows.

We were also glad that the percentage of women in management grew modestly across the company overall and more sharply in technology and the field. We still expect to see women’s representation in management reflect their representation at the company, which will require us to be more disciplined about soliciting women to apply for management positions, making sure promotion criteria and processes are free from bias, and developing management training that gives everyone more opportunities for career advancement. We also want to keep working to make sure our culture is welcoming to women.

In 2018, we’ve prioritized racial and ethnic diversity over gender diversity. This is in part because we’ve made more progress over the last few years on gender diversity rather than racial and ethnic diversity. In part it’s because we believe our growth depends on delivering good service to people of all races and ethnicities.

Redfin’s proportion of Black and African-American employees increased modestly, from 7.1 percent to 7.8 percent, with a similar-sized gain for Latinx employees, from 6.9 percent to 7.7 percent. The proportion of Asians at Redfin declined from 10.3 percent to 9.9 percent.

We compared Redfin’s diversity to that of the U.S. population, to the population of licensed Realtors, and to the people buying and selling homes in the markets we serve. A market research firm hired by Redfin identified this latter group.

Our field organization has significantly more Asian-American and Black employees than the real estate industry overall, as represented by membership of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and more Black employees than the population of homebuyers and sellers. But neither the company nor our field organization is representative of the U.S. overall. 

One of our most significant diversity challenges is recruiting Black and Latinx software engineers and product managers. We’ve focused our early-career recruiters on academies, schools and industry associations favored by people of color, and also developed training programs that let folks from a wider variety of backgrounds succeed based on their talent, not just expertise in the libraries and coding languages we use here. As a result of these efforts, this summer we had the most diverse class of interns we’ve ever had at Redfin; we expect many of them to come back for long-term employment.

But people of color are still underrepresented in management, challenging us to develop more people of color into leadership positions, to re-evaluate whether our promotion criteria and processes are fair, and also to recruit more people of color from other companies for those positions.

So that’s the state of affairs in 2018; there has been some improvement but it’s still slow. To do better in 2019, we plan to focus on four areas:

• Career Development: We’ll finish documenting career ladders, which set the criteria for promoting employees in each department. These have long been finished in departments like engineering, products and marketing, but are only available for some roles in the field, and still under development for other departments. Career ladders are part of the basic infrastructure of fairness that any company our size has to invest in, which is why we’ve increased the size of our people organization by 85 percent since August.
• Slating and Focus Requisitions: We’ll recruit more people of color, especially for management roles. We’ve piloted programs for making sure that the slate of candidates for a role includes a person of color, and also for focusing recruiting efforts on candidate pools likely to include people of color; this focus can be exclusive for the first 30 or 60 days that a job is open. This approach has been used for only a handful of roles so far, but we’re now ready to roll out these programs to a wider range of roles in 2019, with recruiters who have become familiar with where to look for people of color.
• Leadership Programs: We’ve hired a leader to create training programs for developing talented employees into managers. We don’t want anyone with ability and ambition to feel stuck in his or her career at Redfin, but have relied for too long on informal mentorships that are more likely to spring up between white men. This training should beef up the management training and mentorship programs we already have, so that Redfin becomes a better place for all people to advance their careers.
• Ally Training: We’ve long required employees to attend an online class on unconscious bias, but will be upgrading this class to train employees on how to stick up for folks who are in the minority at many meetings and work events because of their race, age, military status, sexual orientation or gender.

Of course, there’s always much more we can do, and plenty that we are doing but which we haven’t listed here. Our challenge is just finding time to do it all when we also have plenty of houses to sell, and lots of software and marketing programs to create. Career ladders, recruiting, ally training and leadership development are what we think we can do well in 2019.

The post Diversity at Redfin in 2018 appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

As big tech companies open new offices outside Silicon Valley, the migration trend toward affordable cities is likely to continue.

Apple’s recent announcement that it’s adding thousands of jobs in Austin is likely to heat up the housing market in the city, which was already the seventh most popular destination for people moving from one metro area to another in the third quarter of this year, according to data on Redfin.com user searches.

Even before Apple revealed plans to significantly expand its presence in Austin, people from the Bay Area—home to the tech giant’s Cupertino, California headquarters—were showing interest in the Texas capital city. Among Redfin.com users searching for homes in Austin in the third quarter of 2018, 28 percent were from outside the area. And of the people who were looking to move into Austin from outside the area, nearly 19 percent came straight from the Bay Area, the largest share of any region.

As for Redfin.com users looking to leave the Bay Area last quarter, 2.9 percent sought out Austin, making it the sixth most popular destination for people considering a move away from the region—and the most popular for people searching away from the West Coast.

Andrew Vallejo, a Redfin agent in Austin, said that over the last two years the majority of his clients are from the Bay Area, and a large portion of them work for tech companies. The new Apple campus will be housed close to North Austin, which is about 10 miles from downtown and a popular location for tech employers. “When people come to me and ask where in Austin to invest, I tell them North Austin,” Vallejo said. “Tech companies are already having a major impact on the Austin market, but the Apple announcement is adding to the buzz.”

The steady inflow of residents into Austin is likely due in part to its relatively affordable real estate. As of last month, the typical home in Austin sold for $304,000. That’s marginally higher than the national median of $299,000, but significantly lower than the median home price in traditional tech centers like San Francisco ($1,340,000) and San Jose ($1,090,000).

The substantial difference in price between a home in Austin and a home in the Bay Area has already contributed to driving up home prices in the Texas city. “People who sell their house in San Francisco or San Jose and move to Austin often have much more money than they need for a house in their new city,” Vallejo said. “Some homebuyers are willing to do whatever it takes to beat out another offer, and that’s what ultimately drives up prices.”

The addition of more high-paying jobs, from Apple and potentially from other employers, is likely to continue to drive up home prices, particularly in Apple’s backyard. In Northwest Austin, a neighborhood that’s close to both the existing and new Apple campuses, prices are already slightly higher than they are in Austin as a whole: The typical home in Northwest Austin sells for $327,000, up from $192,000 in early 2012. Vallejo said he expects prices in the area surrounding Apple to continue to rise.

Eric Hegwer, another Redfin agent in Austin, said North Austin is attractive to major companies like Apple largely because it’s a residential neighborhood with proximity to highly rated schools, which is helpful for recruiting tech workers with families and children. The neighborhood is also set to be the site of a new Major League Soccer stadium in the coming years.

“Kids are the driving factor in North Austin,” Hegwer said. “A lot of tech workers are choosing a neighborhood not just based on a short commute; they often target a specific school, and are looking for a community with amenities like parks, playgrounds, libraries and recreational centers, and that’s North Austin.”

Another thing that makes Austin as a whole a popular destination for people making moves from one region to another is its vibrant jobs market. Apple already employs 6,200 people there, and its forthcoming 133-acre campus will house an additional 5,000 employees with the capacity to grow to 15,000 total workers. Dell, IBM, Amazon and Google are among the other tech companies with significant footprints in the area.

Apple’s plans to add thousands of jobs in Austin may inspire other tech businesses to pick up hiring in the area. “When one tech company decides to make a big investment in a city and hire thousands of workers, it makes it more appealing for competitors to follow suit because they can benefit from the increased labor pool,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Tech workers tend to not stay at one job for very long. The median tenure at Apple is only two years, which is actually long compared to the tenure at Amazon or Google. Tech companies are constantly recruiting and often poach talent away from each other, so they tend to open offices in the same cities. That’s because it’s much easier to convince a worker to switch companies if you don’t also have to convince that worker to relocate.”

Apple is also adding a significant number of workers to other regions, and it’s not the only tech giant to announce its expansion outside the Bay Area this month: Google has revealed plans to establish a new campus in Manhattan and add thousands of new employees in the city, in addition to several other offices outside the Bay Area it’s opened this year. Below, we’ve put together a table showing some of the areas that will welcome new Apple and/or Google employees, listed by the share of people searching Redfin.com from out of town.

The post Already a Haven for People Leaving the Bay Area, Austin Set to Rise in Popularity With Growing Apple Presence appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Redfin agent Connie Durnal explains why this month is an optimal time to score discounts or savings on upgrades for a new home

Is a brand new home on your wish list? The end of the year is the best time to lock in a deal on a new construction home—if you know what to ask for.

“Even though overall housing market activity dies down as the holidays approach, late December is the best time to negotiate a deal on a new home,” said Redfin agent Connie Durnal, who’s based in Dallas. “Builders’ sales deadlines align with the calendar year, so they are motivated to get homes under contract to meet sales targets at the end of each month, quarter and year. December is all three.”

This December has turned out to be particularly lucrative for buyers in the market for a new home, as builders’ sales have slowed this year, leaving the largest supply of new homes for sale than we’ve seen since at least 2012.

“I’ve been a real estate agent a long time and I’m seeing builders offer more incentives right now than I can ever recall,” Connie said.

Many builders are attracting buyers with competitive pricing and complimentary upgrades in order to move increased inventory before 2019.

So, how can you negotiate successfully? Read on for Connie’s go-to guidelines and advice for purchasing new construction homes:

1. Negotiate on upgrades, not price

“Most builders won’t sell below base price. If it’s listed at $400,000, they’re not going down to $399,000. But they will throw things in on top, like a huge $10,000 credit at their design center for custom color cabinets, extra lights, or other features that are going to cost you.”

2. Keep emotion in check

“A builder is a corporation; treat it like a business transaction without emotion. This is where having an agent whom you trust and who has your best interests at heart is critical. I will often tour a community with a client, and then suggest that they head home so I can talk to the sales rep by myself. They can’t know how badly my buyer wants the home. It’s like playing poker; don’t show the sales rep your hand.”

3. Be prepared to walk

“Be willing to walk out the door. Many times I’ve said, ‘this isn’t going to work,’ and get out of my chair and walk out. There’s a big chance they’ll come running to ask what they can do to get you to stay.”

4. Consider finished homes first

“You’ll get the best deal on a move-in ready home because the builder knows exactly how much it cost to build. Builders don’t know today how much concrete will cost in March, or the future price of shingles, so they tend to price in that uncertainty. Either way, you can still get a better deal by negotiating before year’s end.”

5. Read the fine print

“Before you sign anything, ask questions to make sure you thoroughly understand what’s on every page you sign. Every builder writes their own contracts, which can be one-sided in their favor.”

6. Keep up with the neighbors

“Earlier this year my customer was one of the first to buy into a new development. A few months later, the buyer discovered the base price was reduced. If this happens to you, don’t hesitate to reach back out to the builder and request the same price, even though you’re under contract. If the builder says no–which is unlikely with a reputable builder–let them know you’re prepared to walk away. Be very sincere, but play hard ball.

That’s what happened with my client. The amount of good will the builder ‘bought’ by reducing the sales price is beyond measurement. The buyers are even more of an advocate for the builder now, and if a builder knows you’re going to ‘spread the word,’ chances are they’ll jump through hoops to serve you well.”

7. Factor in mortgage rates

“Talk to a lender early on to understand how your mortgage rate will affect your monthly payment amount and when your rate will be set in stone, especially if the home isn’t yet built. While most lenders are unable to lock in a mortgage rate for a whole year, they might be able to lock in today’s rate for 30, 60, 90, 120 days. The interest rate can play a huge role in determining if it’s best for you to buy a home that’s already under construction or to build from the ground up.”

8. After you negotiate, negotiate again

“One huge thing to ask every single builder is, ‘do you have a preferred lender?’ If the answer is yes, ask if there’s an incentive for using that lender. Here in Texas, you’ll almost always get the title policy paid for, and that’s worth 0.5 or 0.6 percent of the purchase price.”

The post 8 Tips for Negotiating the Best Deal on a New Construction Home appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

From majestic mansions to charming cottages, these are the homes that earned the most hearts.

The new year is a time of joyous beginnings, and also insightful reflection. Looking back is how we’re able to look ahead (earlier this week, Redfin made its own 2019 predictions) while remembering the year that was.

And so, we decided to take a walk down memory lane, to recall the home listings on Redfin.com and the Redfin app that users loved so much, they clicked the heart alongside it to ‘favorite’ and save for later. Reality check: you liked a ton! Hearts were clicked on everything from a seaside treehouse in Seattle, to a charming Austin cottage, and Modernist dream outside Boston.

We’re counting down the top 20 cities where Redfin users favorited homes, highlighting our top pick in each of those destinations. These are the homes that caught your–and our–attention.

Click each city or metro area to see the top home, and let us know the spot that earned your number one heart.

20. Hilo, HI

Aloha! We’d run away to Hilo, Hawaii to hole up in this A-frame home with custom woodwork, beam ceilings, and loft-like layout. Climb the eggshell blue stairs to savor warm tropical breezes and see why 140 Redfin users would ditch the mainland.

19. Miramar, FL

With a waterfront location and refreshing pool, 143 people took time to favorite this home in gorgeous South Florida, and live where you vacation.

18. Philadelphia, PA

Outside Philly, this four bedroom colonial is warm and inviting, with its brick facade, updated kitchen and expansive deck. It hasn’t been on the market long, but 155 and counting have put it on their wish lists.

17. Lake Tahoe, NV

For a mere $75,000,000, you can nab this majestic lakefront mansion, for sale for the first time. Equipped with seven bedrooms and seven baths, it sits on 5.14 secluded acres with four buoys, a seasonal boat barge, guest house and caretaker’s apartment, and wait for it, two glass funiculars. Join 163 users who saved this for after the Christmas bonus clears.

16. Scottsdale, AZ

We can nearly feel the sun warming our winter bones after glimpsing this Adobe-style house in Scottsdale. Flanked by cacti and palm trees, it’s a classic desert home, saved by 166 users.

15. Durham, NC

Downtown Durham is undergoing an exciting revitalization, not unlike this renovated Craftsman style home with hardwood floors, an updated granite-topped kitchen and charming archways. We saw 167 people envision coffee on the covered porch.

14. Boulder, CO

With Apple placing its eye on burgeoning cities like Boulder, it’s no surprise to see users flock to listings in the area, like this cozy, cute condo backing onto tranquil greenery, which garnered 170 saves.

13. Nashville, TN

This brick, split-level home minutes from downtown Nashville was saved by 199 people who admired features like sparkly new appliances and trendy subway-tiled bathrooms.

12. Dallas, TX

With storybook-like stone exteriors and exquisite minimal design inside, this Dallas two-story unit boasts plush upscale details like Carrera marble countertops, earning 241 likes.

11. Waltham, MA

There’s only one word for this incredible contemporary space: wow. Futuristic exteriors and floor-to-ceiling glass walls frame breathtaking views of the Boston area, while a stylish open floor plan begs to entertain. Count us among the 281 who covet this space.

10. Denver, CO 

Denver continues to surge in popularity, drawing techies and nature lovers alike, all of whom would likely add to the 387 hearts placed on this adorable 1920s bungalow.

9. Columbia, MD

Nestled within dense leafy trees, this Baltimore area address feels like you’ve been transported to a lush jungle. Stunning and contemporary, it’s decked out with designer amenities from a pool and wet bar, to jaw-dropping wine racks. See why 425 people considered calling it home.

8. Austin, TX

With a prim white fenced porch and matching blue exteriors, it’s hard not to adore this charming Austin home. Perhaps some of the 433 customers and counting who saved this sweet find are also eyeing a role at Apple’s new campus?

7. Falls Church, VA

Fall in love with Falls Church, a pretty suburb of DC. In fact, 529 people did, enamored with this expansive six bedroom home outfitted with a gorgeous kitchen.

6. Chicago, IL

Chicago’s delightful Dunning neighborhood drew 530 hearts to its leafy, tree-lined street, peaceful deck, and beautifully renovated interior oasis.

5. San Diego, CA 

This single-story new construction home exudes California cool from every nook of its luxe four-bed three-bath layout. We could certainly enjoy a sunset on that back patio, and 583 users agreed.

4. Portland, OR

Why choose between a boat and house when you can have both? This floating home was favorited by 627 searchers, drawn to its tiered terraces and maritime mystique.

3. Los Angeles, CA

You went gaga for LaLa Land, with 827 likes on this charming artist’s hideaway in LA’s bohemian Laurel Canyon. Spoiler alert: the listing states the property was placed in an upcoming event–future famous filming site perhaps?

2. Seattle, WA

This rustic, seaside treehouse-meets-lighthouse is what Airbnb dreams are made of. Sadly, recent damage demands it be torn down at the city of Seattle’s request, but that didn’t stop 1,505 dreamers from imagining what might go in its place.

1. Sunnyvale, CA

Silicon Valley reigns supreme. The most favorited home on Redfin overall in 2018 is a light and bright, airy abode in highly-coveted Sunnyvale. With 1,644 hearts, it proves that while other cities seek to lure big tech, Silicon Valley will always be home.

The post The 20 Cities and Homes Favorited Most in 2018 appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

See the homes that a $400,000 budget can buy you across the country.

Tech giants like Amazon, Google and Apple have shouted it loud and clear: their gaze is focused far beyond Silicon Valley. Plans are in place to open campuses and create thousands of jobs in burgeoning cities like Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Boulder, Colorado, among several others.

Got your eye on relocating to a shiny new desk with a (hopefully) more affordable address in 2019? You’re not alone. We already know views of homes spiked after Amazon announced its HQ2 locations, and Redfin agents in both regions reported a jump in interest.

“Tech companies are doing all they can to lure workers to their campuses. Job offers from tech companies often come with a relocation package to cover the costs of moving,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “If you already own a home, your new employer may offer to help cover certain costs of selling, like home staging or cleaning to make relocating easier.”

With companies all creating engineering roles, we took a look at the average annual software developer salary of $100,000 (as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics), plugged it into Redfin’s Affordability Calculator, and determined the sweet spot to be an average price up to around $400,000.

Want to see what that buys you? From petite condos in Boulder, to updated single family homes in Austin, a $400,000 budget affords different types of houses depending on where you land that new job.

It’s worth noting that our hypothetical budget considered a 4.25 percent interest rate on a 30 year mortgage, and a down payment of about 20 percent. If you’re interested in purchasing a home this year, talk to a lender to learn what you can afford.

Austin

List price: $399,900
With a $370,000 median sale price, a $400,000 budget goes a long way in ATX. Take this stunning, renovated three bedroom home for example, which doesn’t skimp on details. The open floor plan is bathed in abundant natural light, while designer finishes like quartz counters and eco-friendly bamboo floors feel luxurious.

Boulder, CO

List price: $279,950
As homes sell for a median of $700,000, a $400,000 budget calls for considering options such as apartments over detached houses. With that in mind, this cozy condo is a deal, coming in well under budget. Picture yourself curling up by the wood-burning, custom wood-paneled fireplace after work in this updated one bedroom condo. The private balcony is also a prime perch to sip coffee or a local craft brew.

Boston, MA

List price: $360,000
With a median sale price of $656,000 in Boston, buyers with a $400,000 budget have limited options if they want to stay within the city. A Boston engineer could invest or live in this two bedroom, garden level unit that boasts a strong rental history. An amazing location means an easy commute to central Boston, where Apple plans to add hundreds of jobs.

Los Angeles, CA

List price: $390,000
Apple also announced its intention to add roles in LA’s Culver City. Those eyeing Hollywood will need to expand to surrounding up-and-coming neighborhoods like Koreatown. This one bedroom condo features a spa-like bathroom, community pool, an address close to Culver (insider tip: CC is also home to a fantastic burger at Father’s Office), and a more attainable price than the $700,000 median for the area.

Portland, OR

List price: $399,000
Another West Coast fave, Portland is quickly evolving from emerging trendy town to a bonafide tech hub, and list prices are catching up–home prices average $420,000–but remain within reach. This striking townhouse just 10 minutes from downtown, and features vaulted ceilings, impressive crown moldings, plus breathtaking views of Mt. Hood.

San Diego, CA

List price: $375,000
With its laid back culture, San Diego is another new spot for thriving tech and startups. Though California cool comes with a higher price tag–the median sale price sits at $595,000. While the beach may beckon, keep within budget by moving further inland for finds like this two bedroom, two level unit with an open, airy layout complemented by new flooring, a polished kitchen, and well maintained grounds.

Washington, DC

List price: $372,000
Amazon is set to open another HQ in Crystal City, and homes across the river in Washington, D.C. are receiving a flurry of interest. The median, D.C. home price is $597,000. Buyers with a budget should look to modern condos like this one bedroom in a historic building, complete with rooftop views of the Washington Monument and upscale amenities such as a fitness center and private courtyard.  

The post Moving to a New Tech Hub? Here’s What You Could Buy With the Average Software Engineer Salary appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

35-44 year olds were hit hardest by the housing bust just as they reached prime first-time homebuying age

Less than half of homebuyers and sellers between the ages of 35 and 44 believe that real estate is a better long-term investment than the stock market, according to a survey Redfin commissioned in December of more than 2,600 people nationwide who bought or sold a home in the last year, attempted to do so, or have plans to buy or sell soon.

Buyers who reached the median first-time homebuyer age of 31 years old between 2008 and 2012 during the Great Recession and housing market collapse are now 38 to 42 years old. Redfin’s survey results show that this was the only age group that has less confidence in real estate as an investment than the stock market. Just 48 percent of homebuyers and sellers in this age group believe that real estate is a better long-term investment than the stock market.

“The oldest Millennials and youngest Gen-Xers entered their late twenties or early thirties during the housing crash, which explains why they are more skeptical about investing in real-estate,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “This generation experienced a major setback during the housing bust, which hit just as they were most likely to be getting married, starting a family, and becoming a first time homeowner. Looking into the future, we expect to see homeownership increase as Millennials enter prime home-buying age. This is because Millennials have a more favorable opinion of real estate as an investment than Gen-Xers, and Millennials are a larger group than Gen-Xers.”

In every other age group, buyers and sellers who believe that real estate is a better long-term investment outnumbered those who believe the stock market is better.

This finding is surprising given that it comes from a survey of people specifically buying or selling homes, which is a group that presumably would be biased toward real estate to begin with. Younger Baby Boomers, respondents aged 55 to 64, were the most optimistic about real estate as an investment. Previous Redfin surveys of homebuyers and sellers have not asked this specific question, so we do not yet have any data on whether this has changed over time.

Methodology

The post Survey: Gen-Xers & Older Millennials Believe Stocks are a Better Investment than Real Estate appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

This morning, we announced our plans to expand to Canada! We’ll soon launch a national Canadian real estate search site at www.redfin.ca and brokerage service in Toronto and Vancouver. We’re working hard to get everything ready and we can’t wait to start working with Canadian buyers and sellers! 

In the announcement, CEO Glenn Kelman said, “Our goal is to make buying and selling Canadian homes more affordable, with Redfin agents who always put customers first. We believe Canadians will love our local full-service agents, low fees and on-demand home showings. Our website and mobile apps will show all the homes for sale via the local Multiple Listing Services used by brokerages. And Redfin will show sale prices for Toronto and Vancouver homes that for years had been unavailable to consumers.”

Blair Anderson, a Toronto native with more than a decade of experience in real estate, will lead Redfin’s operations in the greater Toronto area.

“I was attracted to Redfin’s mission to redefine real estate in the consumer’s favor and have experienced firsthand that it isn’t just a nice sound bite, it’s truly a mindset that is woven into the fabric of who we are as a company,” said Anderson. “I’m proud to introduce Redfin to Canada. Canadian consumers are discerning and tech-savvy and I believe they will be blown away by Redfin’s unmatched combination of agent service, technology and value. Not only will we provide full real estate services for a lower fee, the Redfin model rewards customer service, so our agents are accountable to deliver the best outcome for their clients.”

For home sellers, Redfin Canada will charge a 1 percent listing fee. Redfin agents provide a complete home-selling service, including pricing and staging advice, free professional photography, a 3D walkthrough of the home, open houses, yard signs and beautifully designed marketing materials. Redfin listings will receive premier placement on Redfin.ca and will be displayed on Realtor.ca and other Canadian real estate websites via the Multiple Listing Services.

Homebuyers who work with Redfin also save because the company refunds part of its commission to the buyers it represents. Our technology helps buyers act fast with instant alerts that let them know when homes hit the market or drop in price. With Redfin’s Book It Now feature, homebuyers can set up property showings with a few taps on a smartphone.

For more information and to sign up to be alerted when we launch in Canada, visit www.redfin.ca.

The post Hello, Canada! Redfin will launch in Toronto and Vancouver! appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Philadelphia and Baltimore feature heavily on this year’s ranking of the hottest affordable neighborhoods in the country.

Every city has in-demand neighborhoods where buyers are clamoring to find homes. But with hotness comes price growth, which can make it difficult for the typical homebuyer to afford a home in the most popular parts of expensive areas.

In this report, Redfin ranks the hottest affordable neighborhoods for the typical homebuyer. We’re using a modified version of the methodology from our annual hottest neighborhoods report. This report tracks year-over-year growth in listing views and favorites and incorporates Redfin agent insights to see which neighborhoods are growing in popularity, but with a price cap of $294,000, the median home price across all markets Redfin serves.  

This year, the hottest neighborhoods within reach are concentrated mostly in Baltimore and Philadelphia, two metro areas that are often considered affordable alternatives to Washington, D.C. and New York. Neighborhoods in Chicago, San Antonio and the Portland, Oregon and Boston metro areas also show up in the rankings.

In the Baltimore area, the neighborhoods that appear in the rankings this year are all on the outskirts of the city in areas that are attractive to move-up buyers. “A lot of people are moving away from the city center into places that feel more like suburbs,” said Redfin agent Rebecca Hall. “They’re moving to areas that don’t feel as dense; they have more of a neighborhood feel and that’s really appealing to homebuyers. You can get larger single-family homes rather than the row houses Baltimore is known for, and they’re less expensive. Some of these pockets are also known for desirable charter schools.”

Below is the complete list of Redfin’s hottest affordable neighborhoods of the year. All statistics on median sale price, average sale-to-list price ratio and percent of homes that sold above list price are from November 2018.

1. McKinley Park, Chicago, IL

Median sale price: $270,000
Median sale price for metro area: $230,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 97.9%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 35.1%

“Homebuyers are flocking to McKinley Park because it’s just south of Pilsen, which is one of the trendiest neighborhoods in the country, and it’s just west of long-established Bridgeport. People who are priced out of Pilsen are looking in McKinley Park,” said Redfin agent Niko Voutsinas. “People who live there have have excellent connectivity to downtown because it’s right off the L and the expressway. The neighborhood has a beautiful park with public amenities, a pond and an outdoor swimming pool.”

2. East Mount Airy, Philadelphia, PA

Median sale price: $200,000
Median sale price for metro area: $199,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 98%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 28.1%

“East Mount Airy is attractive to homebuyers because it’s close to the center of the city and transit options. It’s also near Fairmount Park, which is one of the largest urban green spaces in the country. Compared to other neighborhoods in Philadelphia, homes tend to be reasonably priced and they’re larger with lots of character,” said Elizabeth Tumasz, a Philadelphia Redfin agent. “Easy access to cafes, shopping, co-ops and bookstores is an added bonus.”

3. Parkville, Baltimore, MD

Median sale price: $204,900
Median sale price for metro area: $270,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 98.2%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 24%

“Parkville is popular for people who want to live slightly outside the city of Baltimore. People appreciate that they’re not too far from downtown, but the property taxes are less expensive and the homes tend to be larger,” said Redfin agent Juliana Weaver. “There are also a lot of cute Cape Cod style homes in the area, so I always tell people about Parkville if they’re looking for that type of home.”

4. Hamilton, Baltimore, MD

Median sale price: $159,500
Median sale price for metro area: $270,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 98.5%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 31.6%

“Over the last few years, a lot of homes in the Hamilton area have been renovated and that trend is expected to continue. There’s still a lot of room for it to grow,” said Redfin agent Juliana Weaver. “The neighborhood is known for smaller single-family homes with small yards at a slightly lower price point than is typical for Baltimore. People love the neighborhood because there are a lot of local restaurants and small business.”

5. Fircrest, Vancouver, WA (Portland, OR metro area)

Median sale price: $282,500
Median sale price for metro area: $385,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 100.1%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 20%

“This area is a mix of new construction and older homes with large yards that have been fixed up, and both options tend to be affordable,” said Redfin agent Rebecca Thompson. “It’s an easy commute for people who work in Portland, the homes aren’t cookie-cutter and it’s definitely getting more popular among buyers.”

6. Bustleton, Philadelphia, PA

Median sale price: $248,250
Median sale price for metro area: $199,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 98.1%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 29.4%

“Bustleton is located in the far northeastern part of Philadelphia. It’s attractive because properties tend to be priced lower than those in the center of the city. It’s close to shopping centers and it’s also close to public transportation and major highways, which makes for an easy commute to the center of the city,” said Redfin agent Elizabeth Tumasz. “Homebuyers like the area because they can stay in the city and still get that suburban feel. Homes in Bustleton tend to have nice, grassy yards, and there are a lot of coffee shops, restaurants and parks in the area.”

7. Linthicum, Baltimore, MD

Median sale price: $271,000
Median sale price for metro area: $270,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 99.4%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 37%

“Linthicum is a small suburb located just outside Baltimore, and it’s becoming increasingly popular for homebuyers,” said Redfin agent Debra Morin. “It’s a quiet, well-established community with a small-town feel and several walking and running trails, including Andover Park and the BWI trail. Homes in Linthicum are relatively affordable and it’s close to Baltimore Washington International Airport, with easy access to public transit and major highways.”

8.  Lowell, MA (Boston metro)

Median sale price: $249,250
Median sale price for metro area: $471,100
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 102.5%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 38.9%

“Lowell is an interesting area because it was known for textile mills back in its heyday, but it has struggled to find its economic footing in more recent times. But now we’re seeing investors putting their money back into the area, with UMass and big-name local investors putting millions to work,” said Redfin agent David Pollack. “It has a great downtown area with a lot of restaurants and bars, and it’s home to a folk festival, a favorite in the summer. There’s a commuter rail that takes you right into Boston, and it’s also home to a minor league baseball team that brings in crowds. But you still get a lot of bang for your buck in Lowell, especially compared to bordering towns.”

9. Fox Chase, Philadelphia, PA

Median sale price: $219,000
Median sale price for metro area: $199,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 98.4%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 30.2%

“Fox Chase is in Philadelphia, but it definitely has a suburban feel with a lot of ranch-style houses and twin homes with front yards. A lot of them have garages, too” said Redfin agent Michael Severns. “The neighborhood is perfect for people who commute into the city because it has easy access to main thoroughfares like the Roosevelt Corridor and Highway 611. A lot of people who grew up closer to the city in places like Fishtown and Kensington eventually search for homes a little bit further out in Fox Chase.”

10. Beacon Hill, San Antonio, TX

Median sale price: $213,264
Median sale price for metro area: $220,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 98.5%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 46.2%

“Beacon Hill combines old San Antonio charm with 21st century urban living,” said Perry Sanders, a Redfin agent who works in the area. “The architecture includes a mix of single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses. Combine that with Beacon Hill’s plentiful shops and eateries, and you quickly understand why the neighborhood has gained popularity in recent years—a trend that’s likely to continue.”

Want more hot neighborhoods? Check out Redfin’s ranking of this year’s hottest overall neighborhoods in the country, which includes a top 10 ranking and a list of hot neighborhoods for each of more than 40 metro areas.

Methodology

Redfin’s Hottest Affordable Neighborhoods algorithm is a prediction based on year-over-year growth in pageviews of listings and favorites on Redfin.com from June 1, 2017 through November 30, 2017 to June 1, 2018 through November 30, 2018 and on agent insights, with a price cap of $294,000, the national median.

Names of some neighborhoods have been changed to reflect local parlance. For instance, we changed the name of Harford-Echodale-Perring Parkway in Baltimore to Parkville.

The post Redfin Ranks the 10 Hottest Affordable Neighborhoods of 2019 appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Many people are moving away from pricey coastal cities, but the ones that remain are searching for homes in high-priced pockets of already-expensive areas.

The majority of Redfin’s 10 hottest neighborhoods of 2019 have a median sale price of more than $1,000,000—and the others aren’t far from the seven-figure mark.

Redfin’s annual hottest neighborhoods report makes predictions for the coming year using a combination of agent insights and data that shows which areas are seeing rising interest from homebuyers. Somewhat surprisingly, considering competition for homes has recently been slowing in Seattle and the Bay Area, this year’s most desired neighborhoods in the country are all in expensive coastal parts of California and the Seattle and Washington D.C. metro areas. Another trend tying together this year’s neighborhoods is that they’re located away from urban cores, but still close enough for easy commutes into job centers.

Although the hottest neighborhoods are all either on the West Coast or the East Coast, the list is more geographically diverse than it was last year. We released last year’s report in January 2018, and at that time nine of the 10 hottest neighborhoods were in the San Jose metro area—and the other one was in San Francisco. This year, just three of the neighborhoods are in the Bay Area, with two in Oakland, which has a median sale price of $718,613. That’s well above the national median, but significantly lower than the $1,085,000 median in San Jose.

“Oakland isn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but compared to San Jose, you’re going to get more house and an easier commute into San Francisco,” said Kalena Masching, a Redfin agent who works in the Bay Area. “The theme right now seems to be that traffic is terrible in the South Bay; it can take people an hour and a half to get from San Jose to San Francisco. People are starting to place more emphasis on a work-life balance and Oakland has highly rated schools and homes that are close to BART stations, which is exactly what our clients tell us they are looking for.”

The absence of San Jose on this year’s list is consistent with the results of Redfin’s most recent migration report, which shows that people are looking to move away from costly coastal areas in favor of less expensive inland areas. But high-priced pockets of coastal cities are still popular for those who can afford to live in them.

“Neighborhoods in and around cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. are still very desirable places to live if you can afford their high housing costs. They have access to high-paying jobs and amenities like the arts, gourmet restaurants and nightlife,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “But as the cost of living increases in these metro areas, low earners are increasingly looking to move out, and the wealthy residents are left competing for homes in the most desirable neighborhoods.”

Below is the complete list of Redfin’s hottest neighborhoods of the year. We’ve also compiled a ranking of this year’s hottest affordable neighborhoods, which uses a modified methodology to identify neighborhoods that are rising in popularity and are also more affordable for the typical homebuyer. Scroll to the bottom of this report for the three hottest neighborhoods in each of 41 major metro areas. All statistics on median sale price, average sale-to-list price ratio and percent of homes that sold above list price is from November 2018.

1. Bridle Trails, Bellevue, WA (Seattle metro)

Median sale price: $1,300,000
Median sale price for metro area: $545,950
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 98.4%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 15.4%

“Located in a suburb of Seattle, Bridle Trails is an extremely desirable neighborhood, largely due to its highly rated schools and quick and easy access to Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland, which are home to major employers including Microsoft,” said Redfin agent Debbie Barbara. “The neighborhood is known for its large lot sizes and equestrian properties, and a lot of homebuyers also like the fact that a lot of parks in the area welcome horses.”

2. Merriewood/Montclair, Oakland, CA

Median sale price: $1,180,000
Median sale price for metro area: $718,613
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 115.8%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 79%

“This area is popular for many people because it has its own charming downtown. It’s also known for highly rated schools,” said Kate Norton, a Redfin agent who works in the Oakland area. “The homes themselves are located up small winding roads, and because they’re in the hills, many homes offer views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco. The lots are often sloped, so many homes are built into the hillside with upper-level decks.”

3. Mission Terrace, San Francisco, CA

Median sale price: $1,260,000
Median sale price for metro area: $1,340,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 116.5%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 81.8%

“Mission Terrace is composed of picturesque homes, flat lots and quiet streets. It has plenty of commuter options and it’s close to several big grocery stores,” said Redfin agent Carlos Barrientos. “It’s become more desirable in the last year for a very simple reason: improvements to Balboa Park, an adjacent city park.”

4. AU Park/Tenleytown, Washington, D.C.

Median sale price: $975,000
Median sale price for metro area: $393,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 100%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 37.2%

“Traveling through the quiet, shaded residential streets in the upper northwest corner of D.C., you might not know you’re just a short metro ride to downtown and everything the nation’s capital has to offer,” said Redfin agent Michael Alderfer. “The neighborhood has mostly older single family homes on slightly larger lots than you’ll find in other parts of the city, as well as condo buildings near the metro and commercial corridor on Wisconsin Ave. New retail development in the Tenleytown area have added to the appeal.”

5. San Rafael Hills, Pasadena, CA (Los Angeles metro)

Median sale price: $1,210,000
Median sale price for metro area: $620,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 105.6%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 73.3%

“San Rafael Hills is a little pocket south of the 134 freeway. It has a woodsy, secluded feel and it’s a little outside the traditional Pasadena real estate market, but in terms of greater Los Angeles, it’s centrally located,” said Sam Najarian, a Redfin agent who works in the area. “People who buy homes in San Rafael Hills can easily access downtown LA, either by using the freeway or taking surface streets. And if you get a property at elevation, you’ll have a view of Old Town Pasadena.”

6. Woodridge, Bellevue, WA (Seattle metro)

Median sale price: $1,087,500
Median sale price for metro area: $545,950
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 100.3%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 50%

“Woodridge has long been a popular neighborhood for homebuyers. Last year, a lot of homes in Woodridge were going for more than $100,000 over asking price,” said Redfin agent Debbie Barbara. “It’s just minutes from downtown Bellevue and it’s close to major interstates, including I-405 and I-90, which makes for an easy commute. It also has highly rated schools, a neighborhood swimming pool and proximity to great restaurants and shops.”

7. South Pasadena, Pasadena, CA (Los Angeles metro)

Median sale price: $977,500
Median sale price for metro area: $620,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 100.9%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 53.6%

“In South Pasadena, you’ll find homes that are smaller in square footage and higher in price. But homebuyers love the neighborhood because it has highly rated schools from elementary all the way through high school,” said Redfin agent Sam Najarian. “Another attractive part of South Pasadena is the community feel. It’s close to Mission Street, which is really popular for shopping, and the neighborhood puts on events during holidays and over the summer.”

8. Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C.

Median sale price: $1,060,000
Median sale price for metro area: $393,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 101.3%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 53.7%

“Chevy Chase offers stately historic homes with room to spread out. The neighborhood is primarily residential, but shopping and dining options abound in nearby Friendship Heights and Bethesda,” said Redfin agent Michael Alderfer. “While it’s been a highly desirable neighborhood for decades, its appearance on the hottest neighborhoods list shows that homebuyers with large budgets want to be in the District. A buyer with the budget to afford Chevy Chase could explore a number of high-end neighborhoods further outside the city in Maryland or Virginia, but we’re finding many buyers want to be closer in.”

9. Berkeley Hills, Berkeley, CA (Oakland metro)

Median sale price: $1,380,000
Median sale price for metro area: $718,613
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 118.2%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 81.8%

“Berkeley has a long history of being a desirable city within the Bay Area,” said Redfin agent Kate Norton. “Berkeley Hills has beautifully maintained homes known for their historical touches, and it’s close to great restaurants, shops and parks. And did I mention the views from up there?”

10. Mount Washington, Los Angeles, CA

Median sale price: $981,500
Median sale price for metro area: $620,000
Average sale-to-list price ratio: 105.7%
Percent of homes that sold above list price: 79%

“Mount Washington, in the northeastern part of Los Angeles, has become a hotbed for a few reasons. La Canada has historically been popular due to highly rated schools, and when prices got too high, many people moved south to Eagle Rock. And when people got priced out of Eagle Rock, they started looking further south in Mount Washington,” said Redfin agent Sam Najarian. “Most of the homes for sale are fixer-uppers on the hillside, so it’s been really popular for developers, who are buying properties and building new homes. The whole community has tremendous views because it’s built on a hill, so homebuyers purchasing a south-facing home will get views of downtown and Century City, and buyers facing north will see Pasadena and Glendale.”

The Hottest Neighborhoods of 2019 by Metro Area

Take a look at the list below to see the hottest neighborhoods in your region. The rankings feature three neighborhoods each in many of the largest metro areas in the US, compiled with Redfin user data and agent insights. The neighborhoods below are poised to become some of the most desirable places in the country in the coming year. All data is from November 2018.

Want even more hot neighborhoods? Here’s a look at Redfin’s ranking of this year’s hottest affordable neighborhoods, which uses a modified methodology to identify areas that are rising in popularity and are also within reach for the typical homebuyer.

Methodology

Redfin’s Hottest Neighborhoods algorithm is a prediction based on year-over-year growth in pageviews of listings and favorites on Redfin.com from June 1, 2017 through November 30, 2017 to June 1, 2018 through November 30, 2018 and on agent insights.

Redfin receives neighborhood data from a third party. Names of some neighborhoods have been changed to reflect local parlance. For instance, we changed the name of Annandale in Los Angeles to San Rafael Hills.

The post Million-Dollar Mania: Redfin’s 10 Hottest Neighborhoods of 2019 Are All in Costly Coastal Hubs appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Technology is changing the face of real estate, and it looks like 2019 will be the year that iBuyers are put to the test. As the housing market cools off, home sellers are looking to get top dollar for their homes, especially in large markets like San Diego. The good news is that there are more options than ever when it comes to selling a home, and you can do it all on a phone, tablet, or computer, from the comfort of your home. When choosing whether to list your home on the market or sell to an iBuyer, it’s important to understand how iBuyers work, how much money you could make, and who is a good candidate for an iBuying program.

What is an iBuyer?

An iBuyer is a real estate company that will make an instant offer on a home. iBuyers use statistical modeling algorithms – known as AVMs – to evaluate your home’s worth based on comparable market data. With iBuyers, sales can close in under two weeks, in contrast to the typical listing process that can take months. After buying the home, the iBuyer will then repair and try to resell it for a profit.

What is an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) in real estate?

An Automated Valuation Model (AVM) is a computer program used by home appraisers, real estate professionals, and iBuyers to estimate a home’s value. AVMs use statistical linear and multiple regressions to predict the home’s worth based on market data. An AVM takes into consideration age, historical data, transaction records, property features, and similar data points.

The Redfin Estimate is a free tool that relies on an AVM to calculate the market value of individual homes. It has been able to predict the value of a home with about a two percent median error rate, providing a good frame of reference for a home’s value instantly.

How much do iBuyers pay?

While iBuyers charge higher fees than a typical real estate transaction, they provide value for the seller in the form of a quick cash sale. iBuyers generally pay 75-100% of market value for a home. For example, if you have a $1M home and the iBuyer gives you 85% of value and charges a 7% fee, you’d end up with 16% less than selling on open market if you paid 6% on agent commissions. But after repair costs, seller concessions, and potential mortgage and rent overlaps from a traditional sale, the seller won’t get to keep all that extra money, and it’s easy to see how iBuyers can provide similar or superior value.

Often the best way to get top dollar for your home is to make it shine and list it for sale with a local real estate agent, but sometimes you don’t have the time, energy, or money to go through that process. If you’re on the fence, the best thing to do is explore both options. Listing your home gives you the opportunity to test the market and see if iBuying is right for you.

How does iBuying work?

To start the iBuying process, the seller goes online and answers some questions about the condition of the home. For example, the RedfinNow iBuyer program asks:

• How many bedrooms and bathrooms does your home have?
• Have you made any improvements on your home?
• Does your home have any amenities such as a pool, solar panels, gated community?
• How soon do you want to sell?

The iBuyer will then do a home inspection to determine any issues like structural damage, mold, asbestos, oil leaks, etc. These aren’t necessarily deal breakers, but may impact the home’s sale price. After running the numbers, the iBuyer will come back with a full cash offer, which the seller can choose to accept or reject. If accepted, the property sale can close in as little as seven days.

In most cases, iBuyers will take on the work of rehabbing the house, and then try to resell it for a profit. Selling to an iBuyer can be a great option for those who don’t want to put the time and energy into remodeling, repairing, listing, showing, negotiating offers, and waiting for the house to sell. iBuyers simply take the property off your hands, so you can bid confidently on your next home, knowing you will have guaranteed cash at a predictable date.

Why sell to an iBuyer?

iBuying is an ideal solution for people who want to sell a home quickly for cash. There are many reasons someone would want to sell a home fast, including:

1. Relocation: If you’re moving to a new city and need to be on the job ASAP, you may not have time to wait around for your home to sell. iBuying gives you more flexibility to choose when to move, because you don’t run the risk of paying double rent or mortgage payments. Most iBuyers will make an offer within days and close within weeks.
2. New home: If the purchase of your dream home requires the sale of your current home, you may need access to the equity tied up in your current home. An iBuyer can give you quick cash for your current home to buy your next one.
3. Ease of service: A quick cash sale through an iBuyer is like flying first class: more costly upfront, but ultimately a smoother ride without the hassles. With iBuyers, there’s no prepping the house for market, herding kids and pets out the door during open houses, or worrying over whether a potential buyer will back out of the sale. iBuying is user-friendly and you can get a cash offer within days by answering some questions online.
4. Repairs: Doing home repairs can be expensive and time-consuming. If you can’t or don’t want to do the work to upgrade your property before you sell, or don’t have cash to pay for repairs and renovations out of pocket, iBuyers will deduct this from your offer price, so there’s no cash outlay from you.
5. Rental properties: If you’re an investor with a vacant rental that is costing you money every day it’s empty, a quick sale to an iBuyer can be very attractive.
6. Family circumstances: Maybe you’re going through a divorce and want to split the assets and move on. Or, you’ve inherited a home you don’t want to live in or manage. iBuying offers the convenience of a quick cash offer.

Regardless of the situation, iBuying provides a quick cash option in exchange for a discounted offer, allowing you to bypass the listing process, sell the house quickly, and move on your own terms.

With today’s technology, there are more options than ever for buying and selling real estate. iBuyer programs use data to calculate a quick cash offer on your home, allowing you more speed, flexibility, and choice than a traditional sale. If you’re on the fence about iBuying, the best thing to do is explore both options. Find out if an iBuyer can get you an offer you’d be happy with, and compare that to how much you could make selling with an agent.

Have you worked with an iBuyer before? Let us know your experience in the comments below.

The post Quick Cash for Homes: How iBuyer Programs are Changing the Real Estate Industry appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

December home sales fell 11 percent as prices turned in their smallest gain in over six years. Boston and San Jose both saw prices decline year over year.

As predicted by CEO Glenn Kelman in early November, the housing market ended 2018 not with a bang, but a whimper. U.S. home-sale prices increased just 1.2 percent in December compared to a year ago, to a median of $289,800 across the metros Redfin tracks. The year-over-year increase in home prices was the smallest since the number went positive in March 2012.

The median sale price of homes sold in December fell in nine of the 76 largest metro areas Redfin tracks, including San Jose (-7.3%) and Boston (-1.0%). December was the first month either metro saw home prices fall year over year since January 2012. The swing in home prices has been especially dramatic in San Jose, which saw year-over-year gains in excess of 20 percent between November 2017 and June 2018.

Meanwhile, the number of completed home sales nationally fell faster than it has in two and a half years, down 10.9 percent from December 2017. Home sales declined in 69 of the 76 largest metro areas that Redfin tracks.

“December may feel like a foot on the brake, but the housing market was going over the speed limit,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Home prices have been growing faster than wages since 2012, and that can’t go on forever. Now that price growth has slowed down and more homes are sitting on the market, buyers will have the upper hand in 2019. Buyers will have more options with more homes for sale, and it will be sellers working to woo buyers into making an offer. And as a bonus, buyers, for the time being, have the benefit of mortgage interest rates that are lower than they were in late 2018, which will make borrowing more affordable.”

The number of homes newly listed for sale in December fell from a year earlier (-4.1%), but due to the large decrease in home sales, the growth in the number of homes for sale on the market hit a 42-month high, rising 4.8 percent in December.

“Buyers shopping now are benefiting from sellers who are willing to negotiate, since it’s anyone’s guess what the spring real estate market will look like,” said Seattle-based Redfin agent Jessie Culbert. “Well-priced, appealing homes are seeing the return of pre-inspections and even multiple offer situations, so it may be too soon to get comfortable with the idea of a slower market.”

Of the 76 largest metro areas in the country, 46 saw an increase in the number of homes for sale compared to a year earlier, with the largest gains coming in San Jose (+131.3%), Seattle (+117.8%) and Oakland (+69.0%). The metro areas with the biggest decline in homes for sale were New Orleans (-32.3%), Montgomery County, PA (-24.3%) and Philadelphia (-22.4%).

Across Redfin metros, the typical home that sold in December went under contract in a median of 50 days, the same speed as a year earlier. This past December, 18 percent of homes sold above the list price, down from 21 percent from the prior December. Meanwhile 16 percent of homes on the market in December had a price drop, slightly higher than December 2017’s share of 14 percent. The share of homes that went under contract within two weeks was up month-over-month, increasing from 25 percent in November to 31 percent in December, but was down from 34 percent in December 2017.

Other December Highlights

Competition

• Grand Rapids, MI was the fastest market, with half of all homes pending sale in just 21 days, down from 26 days a year earlier. Boston and Omaha, NE were the next fastest markets with 23 median days on market, followed by Philadelphia (25) and Rochester, NY (28).
• The most competitive market in December was San Francisco where 52.2% of homes sold above list price, followed by 41.5% in Oakland, CA, 39.6% in San Jose, CA, 32.8% in Tacoma, WA, and 31.9% in Buffalo, NY.

Prices

• Pittsburgh had the nation’s highest price growth, rising 11.7% since last year to $162,000. Salt Lake City had the second highest growth at 10.0% year-over-year price growth, followed by Greenville, SC (9.5%), New Haven, CT (8.8%), and Las Vegas (8.6%).
• 9 metros saw price declines in December. Honolulu home prices declined the most since last year falling 9 percent to $537,000.

Sales

• Sacramento, CA saw the largest decline in sales since last year, falling 26.4%. Home sales in Orange County, CA and Seattle declined by 22.5% and 22.0%, respectively.
• Nassau & Suffolk Counties, NY led the nation in year-over-year sales growth, up 22.1%, followed by Camden, NJ, up 17.0%. Detroit rounded out the top three with sales up 6.9% from a year ago.

Inventory

• San Jose, CA had the highest increase in the number of homes for sale, up 131.3% year over year, followed by Seattle (117.8%) and Oakland, CA (69.0%).
• New Orleans had the largest decrease in overall inventory, falling 32.3% since December 2017. Montgomery County, PA (-24.3%), Philadelphia (-22.4%), and Rochester, NY (-22.3%) also saw far fewer homes available on the market than a year ago.

Redfin Estimate

• The median list price-to-Redfin Estimate ratio was 95.6% in San Francisco, the lowest of any market. Only 12.3% of homes in San Francisco were listed for more than their Redfin Estimate.
• Conversely, the median list price-to-Redfin Estimate ratio was 102.4% in Miami and 102.2% in West Palm Beach, FL, which means sellers are listing their homes for more than the estimated value in those metro areas. In Miami, 84.3% of homes were listed above their Redfin Estimate, the highest percentage of any metro.

Below are market-by-market breakdowns for prices, inventory, new listings and sales for markets with populations of 750 thousand or more. For downloadable data on all of the markets Redfin tracks, visit the Redfin Data Center.

Median Sale Price

Homes Sold

New Listings

All Homes for Sale

Median Off-Market Redfin Estimate

The post Home Prices and Sales Ended 2018 Not With a Bang, But a Whimper appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Sales of new homes in all four major US regions dropped in the last two months of 2018. The year-over-year trend was especially drastic in the Northeast, where new-home sales fell by 16.1 percent in December.

Here’s a look at the annual drop in single-family new-home sales (seasonally adjusted) across the country in the final two months of last year:

Of all four regions, sales of new homes has been in negative territory the longest in the Northeast. That region hasn’t experienced growth since January 2017, according to Redfin data.

“All around the country homebuyers were backing off at the end of last year due to high prices and high mortgage interest rates, and 2018 tax reform made it even more expensive to buy high-priced homes in high-tax states like Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. New homes tend to be pricier than existing homes, which is one reason sales of new homes dropped off so much in the Northeast,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather.

Sales of new homes could pick up in the coming months. Builder confidence is up two points to 58 this month, thanks in part to the recent decline in mortgage rates and continued job growth. Another factor that could contribute to an increase in new-home sales is a decline in the cost of building materials. The price of materials came down 1.8 percent in December.

Here’s a look at the seasonally adjusted annualized rate for growth in new-home sales:

The data above is based on Redfin data that covers more than 150 US markets. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development, in conjunction with the Census, typically reports monthly data on new-home sales. Due to the partial shutdown of the federal government, the data for the end of 2018 hasn’t been released. Redfin released its November and December 2018 numbers on single-family new-home sales to bridge the gap as the shutdown continues. The chart below illustrates that overall, Redfin and HUD data show the same trends in new-home sales. All data below is based on year-over-over growth.

The post New-Home Sales Saw Double-Digit Drops to Close Out 2018 appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Although the number of homes for sale is increasing rapidly in some markets, the number of affordable homes for sale is falling.

We have written a lot recently about rapid growth in the supply of homes for sale in many markets such as San Jose and Seattle. But with both home prices and interest rates up from a year ago, both the number and share of homes for sale that are affordable to a typical household has actually decreased even as total homes for sale are increasing.

For this report we considered all homes that were active on the market at any point in 2018 and 2017. We calculated the share of homes in each metro area that were affordable during each year to a household making the median income in that metro area, assuming a 20 percent down payment, an interest rate of 4.64 percent for 2018 and 3.95 percent for 2017, and a monthly mortgage payment no more than 30 percent of gross income.

Just 14 percent of homes that were on the market in 2018 in the San Jose metro area were affordable on the median household income in the area of $117,000. This is a big drop from 2017, when 26 percent of homes that were for sale were affordable. In Los Angeles, 16 percent of homes for sale were affordable in 2018, down from 20 percent in 2017. In Seattle the share of affordable homes for sale dropped from 58 percent in 2017 to 46 percent in 2018.

Home price gains and interest rate increases through 2018 combined to considerably reduce home affordability, so even though the number of homes for sale is increasing the number of affordable homes on the market has decreased in most metro areas.

“Homeownership is increasingly out of reach for the typical American,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Over the last few years builders have focused on luxury homes, and there hasn’t been enough construction of affordable starter homes.”

In many metro areas, even as the number of homes for sale has increased, the number of affordable homes for sale has shrunk over the past year. In the San Diego area, there were 10 percent more homes for sale during 2018 than 2017, but the number of affordable homes for sale fell 16 percent. In the Seattle metro, there were 4 percent more homes for sale, but the number of affordable homes for sale fell 17 percent.

Although the share of homes for sale that were affordable on a median income fell from 2017 to 2018 in all 49 of the metro areas we analyzed, there were a few metro areas where the number of affordable homes for sale increased, including Hartford, CT (+19%), Jacksonville, FL (+9%) and Nashville, TN (+4%).

Homebuyers looking for affordable options still have plenty of choices in metro areas like St. Louis (84%), Minneapolis (82%) and Pittsburgh (82%). Strong growth in jobs and wages may also help buyers make up some lost ground as well.

“We expect builders to shift their attention to more affordable homes during 2019,” added Fairweather, “which along with rezoning efforts by local governments should reduce this pressure to some degree over time.”

Methodology

Using MSA-level income data from the US Census Bureau and 30-year fixed rate mortgage data for December 2018 (4.64%) and December 2017 (3.95%) from Freddie Mac, we calculated a maximum affordable mortgage payment for each metro area in December 2017 and December 2018. We then analyzed all home listings that were active on the market at any time during 2018 and any time during 2017, using the list price, HOA dues, property taxes, and insurance, assuming a 20 percent down payment to determine whether the mortgage payment on the home would fall under a 30 percent affordability threshold for the local metro area.

For more information about the survey and its findings, contact Redfin Journalist Services at press@redfin.com.

The post As the Number of Homes For Sale Increases, Fewer Homes are Affordable to Middle Class Buyers appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

There are more toxins in living spaces than you may realize. Author and expert Christine Dimmick explains how to have a healthier home.

Looking to detox in 2019? There’s more to it than simply sipping green juice and bone broth.

The act of cleansing is extending to the home, where cleaning is no longer a spring chore. Just look at the rampant popularity of Netflix’s “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo,” where best-selling Japanese author and consultant Marie Kondo teaches the art of tidying up by removing any item that does not bring joy.

It’s a worthy intention, but the author of “Detox Your Home,” and natural home cleaning expert Christine Dimmick urges to take it one step further by cleansing your home of toxic influences–reality TV indulgences aside.

“Detox can take on many forms; it can be your food, clothing, cleaning products and home,” she said. “There are so many things I’ve found that we don’t realize are toxic.”

Starting with the very air you breathe.

“Air quality is so important, and impacted by activities like washing clothes with commercial pods, which, while unscented, can still release chemicals into the air.”

To counter these effects, the TODAY Show contributor and founder of The Good Home Co. has a few tips. “In winter, vacuum twice a week, clean under the bed and dust curtains. You see dust covering everything on sunny days,” she said. “If you can only afford one thing, start with the bedroom and sleep with an air purifier. It warns of anything dangerous in the air.”

When it comes to making choices about everything from buying appliances to where to live, Dimmick says to keep detoxing front of mind.

“Built-in health is attractive–are you going to buy a home with a reverse osmosis filtration system or one with well water? Will you pick toxic paint or re-purposed wood? It’s so much more than a trend.”

But before you shell out to live in a bubble and swear off the outside world, know all hope isn’t lost. “There’s no such thing as a non-toxic world. You can go to the top of Mt. Everest and find air pollution,” she concedes. “You won’t be at risk after one night of sleeping in a bed with flame retardant chemicals. But what we can do is be aware of these issues.”

Ready to detox your home? Here are Dimmick’s 8 top tips:

1. Invest in your air

“The most important thing is air quality. There are devices that track it, but there are also simple things like vacuuming, particularly in winter when there’s more dust in the air and we don’t have windows open.

Also refrain from using scented products and candles–anything cheap that you plug into walls. Most people think if the air smells good it must be fresh and that’s just not the case. Buy plants; they provide us with clean, natural air and oxygen.”

And if you’re buying a new home, look at the windows, not just for light but filtration. You can have a sophisticated HVAC system, but you still want air that flows through.”

2. Choose an eco-friendly mattress

“You spend six to eight, even 12 hours in bed a day, which can be loaded with flame retardant chemicals. It’s in our mattresses, couches, anything with foam, and wreaks long term havoc on the endocrine system. Most mattresses made before 2015 were sprayed with these chemicals that you can’t smell. But just because you got your mattress after 2015 doesn’t mean it’s safe. Make sure it’s certified chemical-free, because some companies still do it to this day.”

3. Purge the pantry

“Some of the same chemicals in jet fuel are found in products like potato chip bags which manufacturers spray to prevent static cling. The less plastic in your home, the better. Buy in bulk and store in glass. Look at what’s in every single thing. You could be buying organic cereal but the packaging is plastic. It shows up in ways you wouldn’t expect.”

4. Consider your clothing

“Check your clothing. Often, raincoats, or anything water repellent, even yoga clothes, have a chemical in them that makes its way into drinking and bottled water, and does not biodegrade, ever. Water-proofed clothing not only has a negative impact on our health but also the planet. So, while your Lululemon leggings might not hurt you when you put them on, the microfibers are not great for the environment and have an impact.”

5. Upgrade your drinking water

“Test your water on a regular basis. If you’re moving into a new home, don’t take anyone’s word for it. Just because it’s well water from underground, don’t assume it’s safe. In fact, it can be more contaminated because it’s often not controlled by the city. You have to monitor it yourself. The best fix is to trade regular water for a reverse osmosis system, which removes the chemicals.”

6. Clean consciously

“Look at your cleaning products. Even expensive fragrances, products and detergents have ingredients that cause respiratory issues. Use gentle, sulfate-free, fragrance-free and plant-based detergents and products. You really only need vinegar, water and baking soda. For tough jobs you can bring out natural plant-based cleaners. It makes a huge difference.”

7. Renovate in summer, and carefully

“Do renovations during the summer so you can air rooms out, especially when dealing with paint or varnish. If you’re doing big renovations, move your family out. Things like lead paint, even when removed correctly, can still emit harmful dust.”

8. Buyer beware

“When you buy a home, make sure there wasn’t mold or water damage, which is very detrimental to health. Pay attention to whether it’s in a flooding area.

Also look at what the home is next to–in a big city, make sure you’re not buying over a tunnel or highway where heavy metals can come through the air. In the suburbs, check for nearby cell towers, highways or manufacturing facilities. They can still bring in pollution even a mile away.

And no matter where you choose, look at interiors, not for superficial stuff, but rather, what paint was used, or how the home consumes energy.”

Need help detoxing your home to sell? Talk to Redfin Concierge.

The post 8 Ways to Detox Your Home appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

As technology advances, our homes are getting smarter–but will it add value when it’s time to sell? Our experts weigh in with 6 key tips.

Smart technology, especially gadgets for the home, can be wacky and fun. Some are fun to play with, while others cut energy costs, help secure your home, or make our homes more intelligent overall.

But when when it comes to using them to increase the value of your home, tread carefully.

“The more connected your home is, and the more you know about it, the more you’re going to enjoy your home,” Boise-based Redfin agent Paul Reid said. “Additionally, a homeowner who invests a lot of time and money in smart features likely takes good care of their home, and a well cared-for home is worth more. But smart technology on its own likely won’t increase a home’s value. You can spend a lot on a Nest thermostat, but the investment is unlikely to translate into an increased perceived value in the eye of a future buyer.”

Redfin senior economist Taylor Marr echoed the concern. “Technology that promotes safety or saves a homeowner money holds more value than tech that just plays music or turns on lights. Don’t buy under the presumption that the next buyer wants all the same tech. It’s not a one size fits all model.”

However, technology is still exciting, innovative and worth investing in–just, pun intended, smartly. Here’s what you should know about what’s worth your time and money.

1. Read the fine print

“Technology can come with multi-year contracts. If you’re not planning to be there long, or you end up selling the next year, you’ll still be required to pay for the full term of the contract,” Reid warned. “I had clients who had to sell unexpectedly and now have to account for the couple thousand dollars they owe to the security company.”

2. Tech does have a home in new construction

“The biggest bang for your buck is in the new home market. Builders are investing in smart appliances, so be sure to ask for and take advantage of these upgrades,” said Marr. “In new construction listings, the prevalence of the word “smart” has more than doubled since 2010. In 2018, more than 6 percent of new home listings mentioned smart features, compared with 4 percent of homes for sale overall.”

3. Use smart tech to save energy

“Tech that helps your home use energy more efficiently is more likely to enhance your home’s value,” Reid said. “A fully interconnected solar panel system that generates power to backup batteries has a very real and direct impact. A smart toilet, on the other hand? That seems like a very personal decision, and you can’t have any expectation the next buyer is going to see that same value.”

4. Add your gadgets to any closing checklist

“Technology is deeply tied to your security, with personal information stored on your computer, phone and iPad. If you’re moving, be sure to notify the company associated with any installed alarm or security systems, and if you’re the buyer, add these items to your checklist to verify at closing,” Reid said.

5. It can help make neighborhoods safer

“People who use this equipment are connecting on neighborhood listservs, Facebook groups and other forums to share footage or intel about a suspicious person or lost package. As community members form bonds and neighborhoods become safer as a result, home values can benefit,” Reid said.

6. Look at the luxury market

“Smart tech investments go further in neighborhoods with higher home values where buyers more often prioritize and expect features like automated lighting, blinds, and customized finishes. However buyers who are focusing on affordability are less likely to seek or want to spend more on a home that has extravagant high-tech features,” said Reid.

Now that you know what’s worth it, read on for our guide on how to create the ultimate smart home ecosystem.

The post Is Smart Home Tech a Smart Investment? appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Whether you prefer a classic glaze or some of the new, more adventurous flavors, it’s hard to find a better sweet treat than a great donut. For good reason, the donut has become an iconic American food, and while there are many great donut shops across the country, there are a few cities that have more than their share. Here are the 10 best donut cities in America that every donut lover should visit and for some, possibly consider moving to:

1) New York, NY

City Walk Score: 89
Median Home Sale Price: $625,000

As you would expect in the best donut city in the country, you can’t go far in New York City without coming across a world-class, donut shop. Many would argue that Dough in Brooklyn is the best donut shop in the country. Led by Chef Fany Garson, Dough makes small batches of high-quality donuts with a particular focus on taste and texture. You’ll not soon forget their Lemon Poppy.

Also in Brooklyn is Peter Pan Donuts and Pastry Shop, which has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s. It’s a classic bakery with counter-seating, shakes, and retro uniforms. If you can tear yourself away from Brooklyn, try Doughnut Plant for a good mix of classic and new-fangled flavors. The flavors change seasonally, so there’s always something new. Known for delicious, hand-crafted, yeast donuts, The Doughnut Project has two accessible locations – Central Park and the West Village.

For an understated yet delicious experience visit Underwest Donuts, a take-out donut and coffee shop located in — unusually enough — a carwash. If you’re looking for a high-quality artisanal donut try DunWell Doughnuts, where they also have an impressive lineup of coffee and espresso drinks. Finally, just outside the city, there are two spots that are worth the trip: Glaze in New Milford, New Jersey and Purple Glaze Donuts in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: Du’s Donuts, Erin McKenna’s Bakery, Carpe Donut

2) Los Angeles, CA

City Walk Score: 67
Median Home Sale Price: $685,000

For the most beautiful and delicious donut in the LA area, start at California Donuts in Koreatown. Their trademark donut is the Panda, with Oreo ears and eyes, but the Blueberry Toast Crunch and Samoa are also hard-to-resist, crowd pleasers.

A landmark for forty years, Stan’s Donuts in Westwood Village offers an array of gourmet donuts that they ship around the world. Try the Peanut Butter and Banana! For the freshest of toppings, visit The Donut Man and savor the renowned Fresh Strawberry. If you’re in the mood for a savory, made-to-order donut, try The Donut Friend (they also have sweet options).

For a traditional donut shop with a long history of excellence, try Primo’s. If you’re spending a day at the beach, make sure you visit the Seaside Bakery in Newport Beach or The Donuttery in Huntington Beach.

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: DK’s Donuts, Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts, Fōnuts, Donut Princess

3) Chicago, IL

City Walk Score: 78
Median Home Sale Price: $250,000

Chicago knows donuts! First off, there’s Do-Rite Donuts. While they have a full menu, they are all about the donuts. Of particular note at Do-Rite is the Doughnut-Chicken Sandwich, or have one of their daily gluten-free options such as the Pistachio-Meyer Lemon, and the Candied Maple Bacon.

Another local favorite is The Doughnut Vault, which makes small batches of high-quality, unique donuts. The donuts go quickly, and once they run out, the Vault is closed for the day. Make sure you visit this one early in the day!

If you’re in the area you should also visit Dat Donut for a Big Dat, Dinkel’s Bakery for a Chocolate Cake Donut, Firecakes Donuts for a Tahitian Vanilla Iced, and Stan’s Donuts for a Lemon Pistachio Old Fashioned.

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: The Dapper Doughnut, D&D’s Place

4) Seattle, WA

City Walk Score: 73
Median Home Sale Price: $665,000

Seattle is seemingly overwhelmed with amazing donuts. Stop in any of the city’s five Mighty-O Donuts to have an organic, vegan, mouth-watering donut. Make sure you try the Lemon Poppy flavor! Another chain that has maintained its trademark of high quality — even as it has grown — is Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts and Coffee, with their gourmet donuts and hand-roasted coffee. Don’t miss their signature Feathered Boa, with pink icing and coconut.

If you like jelly-filled donuts then General Porpoise is the place for you. They have a stunning menu of fresh donuts filled with handmade jams, curds, custards, and creams. Plus, with high-quality coffee from multiple roasters, it’s a coffee-lovers (and donut lovers) dream.

While these are the heavy hitters, you should also check out: Daddy’s Donuts in Kenmore for mini, fresh-to-order donuts with some crazy toppings; Daily Dozen Doughnuts in Pike Place Market for fresh, fried-in-front-of-you donuts; and Dahlia’s Bakery’s famous donuts with vanilla mascarpone and rhubarb jam.

5) Minneapolis – St. Paul, MN

City Walk Score: 69
Median Home Sale Price: $253,000

A Baker’s Wife is the place to start in Minneapolis. While it’s a pastry shop the donuts are world-class with an old-school feel. You can still get your donuts for 65 cents. Their cinnamon sugar cake donut will remind you why there has been a donut renaissance in America recently.

Hi-Lo Diner is a diner with a full menu; however, included in that menu are signature cocktails and a selection of Hi-Tops, which are donuts with an array of sweet and savory toppings. What more could you want than a McRib Hi-Top with a house-made cocktail?

Other must-hit places in the Twin Cities include: Mojo Monkey Donuts, specializing in hand-made donuts with high-quality ingredients; Moon Donuts and Cafe, with a good selection of donuts and espresso drinks; and MilkJam Creamery, an ice cream store with a show-stopping, ice cream sandwich made from donuts.

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: Cardigan Donuts, Bogart’s Doughnut Co.

6) Boston, MA

City Walk Score: 81
Median Home Sale Price: $660,000

Boston is saturated with amazing donuts, but you should start your taste-tour in Somerville at Union Square Donuts. Made from a brioche-style dough, the donuts have a light, pastry-like consistency that patrons cannot get enough of.

For a more traditional gourmet donut with lots of unique flavors, try one of Blackbird Doughnuts three Boston locations. Equally enticing, with no frills beyond classic tastiness, Demet’s Donuts in Medford offers an amazing lineup of traditional donuts and fresh-roasted coffee.

Finally, don’t miss Kane’s Donuts, a staple in the Saugus community since 1955. Kane’s has maintained its local feel and high quality, with all donuts made fresh and with local ingredients. Try their Creme Brulee and Boston Cream.

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: Davis Square Donuts & Bagels

7) Atlanta, GA

City Walk Score: 49
Median Home Sale Price: $289,000

Pastry chef Kamal Grant is taking the donut world by storm at Sublime Doughnuts, with two Atlanta locations. Don’t leave without trying the trademark Fresh Strawberry ‘N Cream donut, which is both beautiful and delicious.

While less adventurous with its flavors, DaVinci’s Donuts holds its own in the Atlanta donut scene by making fresh donuts on the spot – hand dipped and created right in front of you. Not to be outdone, Scream’n Nuts in Alpharetta offers daily specials of ice cream and donuts. The flavors are original and all ingredients are fresh and made in-house.

Last, but certainly not least, Revolution Doughnuts has earned a spot amidst Atlanta’s donut greats since opening its doors in 2012. Revolution hangs its hat on having fresh, handmade donuts, and their Nutella Cream Puff is in a class of its own.

8) Portland, OR

City Walk Score: 65
Median Home Sale Price: $410,000

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a list of best donut shops that doesn’t include Portland’s VooDoo Doughnut. While it’s now franchised, try the original location to experience its unique menu and edgy vibe. The menu is extensive – maybe overwhelming, but you can’t go wrong with the classic VooDoo Doll.

For a more gourmet donut try Blue Star, where they make the fanciest of donuts from brioche dough. The flavors and ingredients are original and mouth watering – the Raspberry Rosemary Buttermilk and Passionfruit Cocoa Nibs are especially popular.

While tourists flock to VooDoo and Blue Star, locals swear by Pip’s Original, where the donuts are small (about the size of a half dollar) and all made to order. Pip’s also offers house-crafted chai and a truck that can cater your next event.

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: Delicious Donuts, NOLA Doughtnuts

9) St. Louis, MO

City Walk Score: 65
Median Home Sale Price: $150,000

While The Donut Stop gets much of the attention in St. Louis, it’s certainly not the only great donut shop in town. That said, you can’t visit St. Louis without trying The Donut Stop’s original Cinnamon Glob.

For a donut on the road, head to Route 66 and try The Donut Drive-In, where the chocolate Long Johns have been a local favorite since the 1950s.

To get a sense of the local vibe, try Strange Donuts, that has a new menu each month. Strange Donuts works with local artists and businesses to make your visit about more than just donuts. And yet, the from-scratch, innovative donuts steal the show.

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: Vincent Van Doughnut

10) Houston, TX

City Walk Score: 49
Median Home Sale Price: $219,000

If you’re a gourmet-donut lover, then you’ll fall in love with Houston’s Hugs and Donuts, located in Houston Heights. Make sure you try The Homer, one of their filled jelly or cream donuts (rotating daily), and their milk on draft (there are three flavors every day).

If you’re more interested in a delicious breakfast sandwich, try the Glazed Breakfast Sandwich at one of Glazed the Doughnut Cafe’s two Houston locations. For those that crave a classic, glazed donut, try Kolache Bar, where you can also experience the local special of kolache. Try a jalapeno kolache with a glazed donut for a delightful flavor combination!

Other noteworthy donut shops to check out: Shipley Do-nuts

Methodology: To find out which cities are the best for donut lovers, we compiled a list of recent rankings of critically acclaimed best donut shops and best donuts the U.S. has to offer. Cities gained points based on the quantity of highly reviewed donuts and donut shops in their area. The 10 cities with the highest points were ranked in this list.

The post The Top 10 Cities for Donut Lovers appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

In San Jose, December 2018 and the first few weeks of 2019 brought new lows for home-price growth and bidding wars.

The median home price in the San Jose metro area was down 8 percent annually to $975,000 for the month ending on January 20. That continues a trend that began in December when local home prices fell 7.3 percent, the first year-over-year price drop recorded in the area since the beginning of 2012.

It’s also the first month prices in the region have dipped below the million-dollar mark in the last year. The median sale price in the San Jose metro area, which we define as Santa Clara and San Benito counties, surpassed $1,000,000 in the middle of 2017 and peaked in April 2018 at $1,300,000.

Bidding wars are also at a seven-year low in the San Jose area. Twenty-three percent of offers local Redfin agents wrote on behalf of their homebuying customers faced competition in December, the first time the bidding war rate has dropped below 50 percent since at least January 2012. The rate peaked at 95 percent in January 2018 and it was 83 percent as recently as this past September.

Sellers started realizing the market in San Jose was undergoing a shift—caused in part by the volatility of tech stocks—toward the end of last year and many of them put their homes on the market at lower prices than they would have in the beginning or middle of 2018, according to local Redfin agent Kalena Masching.

“Big tech stock prices have been volatile in recent months and that’s affecting everything in our area,” Masching said. “A lot of buyers rely on their stock compensation for a down payment. For many people, that means a home or a neighborhood that was within their budget a few months ago may now be out of reach if their company’s share price declines.”

“And for people thinking of moving to San Jose from different parts of the country, local job offers from tech companies aren’t as enticing as they once were because home prices reached such a high peak in 2018,” Masching continued. “People are turning down job offers to move here because they realize that even with a good salary they won’t be able to afford a single-family home in San Jose, especially now that they have the option to live in a more affordable city where some of the same companies are opening big offices.”

In other parts of the Bay Area, median sale prices are either slightly down or slightly up. In the San Francisco metro area, which we define as the city of San Francisco and San Mateo County, the typical home sold for $1,2750,000 in the month ending on January 20, down 4.1 percent from a year ago. And in the Oakland metro area, which is home to two of Redfin’s hottest neighborhoods of 2019, the median sale price is $669,000, up 3 percent year over year.

San Francisco and Oakland both have more public transportation options than San Jose, according to Masching, making for an easier commute for people who work at companies north of San Jose in places like Palo Alto and Mountain View, particularly at businesses that don’t provide commuter shuttles.

“The commute in and out of San Jose is terrible and has gotten worse with the influx of tech jobs in the area,” Masching said. “If you live in downtown San Jose and work in Mountain View, for example, it’s less than a 15-mile drive, but it can take 60 minutes during rush hour. My clients are realizing they want to live closer to where they work so they can have a better work-life balance, which starts with spending less time on the road and more time with their families.”

These factors seem to be taking a toll on the San Jose housing market that’s beyond just prices. Home sales in San Jose are also declining on an annual basis, down 16 percent for the month ending on January 13 from a year earlier. And for the four weeks ending on January 20, 33 percent of homes sold above their list price in the San Jose area, down from about 75 percent a year before and the lowest level recorded since January 2012. Meanwhile, supply of homes in San Jose was up 88 percent annually for the month ending on January 20.

The typical home that sold in San Jose in the month ending January 20 went under contract in 44 days, up from just 12 days a year earlier.

“As our market shifts, it’s important for buyers to carefully consider how long they’ll stay in the house,” Masching said. “A one-bedroom condo may be enticing for a newlywed couple, but will it still work for them in three or five years? More and more, I’m telling people to think long term because the days of selling at a profit a year after buying seem to be behind us for now.”

The post San Jose Home Prices Down 8% From Last Year, Falling for First Time Since 2012 appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

More People Look to Move to the Emerald City than Leave for Third Quarter in a Row as Denver Secures its Spot on the ‘Moving Out’ List

Twenty-five percent of Redfin.com home searchers looked to move to another metro area in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to 23 percent during the same period last year. The national share of home-searchers looking to relocate has been inching up slightly since Redfin began reporting on migration in early 2017 and currently sits at its highest level on record. The latest migration analysis is based on a sample of more than 1 million Redfin.com users who searched for homes across 87 metro areas from October through December.

Moving Out – Metros with the Highest Net Outflow of Redfin Users

San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Denver topped the list of metros people looked to leave, posting the highest net outflows in the fourth quarter. Net outflow is defined as the number of people looking to leave the metro minus the number of people looking to move to the metro. A net outflow means there are more people looking to leave than people looking to move in, while a net inflow means more people are looking to move in than leave.

Outflows on the upswing

In San Francisco, New York, Denver and Washington, D.C., outflows were up dramatically from a year earlier. Of all San Francisco Bay Area residents using Redfin, 24 percent were searching for homes in another metro, up from 19 percent during the same time period a year earlier.

Denver made the biggest move up the list from a year earlier, flipping from modest net inflows and outflows throughout 2017 to solid net outflows through late 2018. Last quarter, 24 percent of Denverites on Redfin.com searched for homes outside the area, up from 17 percent a year earlier.

Moving In – Metros with the Highest Net Inflow of Redfin Users

A year ago, we thought Seattle might have passed its peak as a migration destination when it posted a net outflow for the first time at the end of 2017. That trend stuck for just one more quarter before reversing, with Seattle posting a net inflow again in the second quarter of 2018. Since then, Seattle’s net inflow has surged to make it the fifth-most popular migration destination in the fourth quarter, behind nearby Portland and the relatively affordable metros–Sacramento, Phoenix and Atlanta–that have long dominated this list. Although the number of home sales in Seattle was sharply declining at the end of the year (down 22 percent in December), search interest is still high. Washington State’s lack of an income tax may be helping Seattle to continue attracting people, as new tax policies enacted just over a year ago favor areas where homebuyers can avoid hitting the $10,000 SALT cap.

“In both Seattle and Denver prices were growing rapidly in 2017 and early 2018 to the point that buyers backed off in the second half of 2018,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “However, people looking to leave high-tax metros for a city with mountain views and top-notch hiking are more likely to pick Seattle over Denver because Washington State doesn’t have an income tax. In fact, the top destination for Denverites looking to leave is Seattle.”

In Sacramento, which has been at number one or number two on the inbound migration list every quarter since our inaugural 2017 report, “the biggest thing is the affordability of homes here, especially compared to markets like the Bay Area,” said Redfin agent Jim Hamilton. “The market has softened in the Bay Area, but not as much yet in Sacramento, so buyers are moving here to capitalize on their equity and put a substantial down payment or even pay cash.”

Find Your City

Below is an interactive tool to see where people are looking to move and where people are coming from for 80 U.S. metros. Find your city by clicking on the drop down menu:

The post Redfin Report: Seattle Reclaims its Migration-Destination Status appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Close your home online from your desk, or from around the world. All you need is a WiFi signal.  

You’ve secured your new home, agreed on a deal, and are ready to finish the final steps. But before getting keys in hand, it’s time to spend a few hours signing piles of paper.

The chore is tedious, and not exactly eco-conscious, which is why Redfin Mortgage and Title Forward are now offering fully digital closings, which will allow customers to close a home purchase completely online. With a fully digital closing, or eClosing, homebuyers can opt to sign in pajamas, on vacation, or during a lunch break. What used to take hours can now be done in under an hour, as long as you have a good internet connection and a webcam.

So what does it take to close digitally? We spoke to Jason Bateman, head of Redfin Mortgage, and Angela Lozano, national operations manager and general counsel for Title Forward to ask how it works:

What is a fully digital home close?

Jason: “It takes what is traditionally a burdensome, paper-laden process, where you sign 200 pieces of paper until your hands are sore, and turns it into a completely digital, convenient, faster experience. It can happen from anywhere–a coffee shop, your lunch break, anywhere in the world.

What are the steps to close a home digitally

Angela: “You’ll log into our platform–Notarize, our eClosing provider–and the only requirements are a good internet connection and webcam in order for the buyer and notary to see each other. You then click in different places to sign or initial, and a notary walks you through each page so you understand what you are signing.”

Is an EClosing secure?

Angela: “It’s a state-approved process that’s fully vetted and authorized. The purchaser completes a verification at the beginning for identity protection. The purchaser can literally hold up their ID to the webcam and the notary can verify it as a legitimate form of ID.

How are digital closings different from a traditional close?

Jason: “Redfin customers are tech savvy. They find a house online, set up a tour online, upload their documents and apply for a loan with Redfin Mortgage online. And then they’re hit with, ‘sign hundreds of pieces of paper,’ and suddenly this process isn’t digital anymore, but rather, extremely manual and old school. The digital close brings the closing process in line with the entire Redfin experience.

Who should close a home online?

Jason: “Everyone who lives in a state where it’s available! Our customers can now sit in the moving truck, sign online, get the keys, and walk right in. Investors can buy a property in a different state. We had one investor in California buy a property in Texas without coming to Texas because he signed digitally. It’s especially convenient for people who need to travel on closing day, or are in professions that can’t take off of work, like a nurse at a hospital. We also had a couple with a newborn that didn’t want to take the baby to an attorney’s office. Really, there’s no good argument not to do it.”

Angela: “For another set of buyers on a cash deal, the husband closed in Indonesia while his wife did it in Monaco, and they purchased a house in Virginia. There are so many conveniences to not having to leave your home or workplace.”

Where are eClosings available?

Angela: “If a loan is involved, it has to be done with both Redfin Mortgage and Title Forward, which are both available in Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Maryland, Tennessee, Illinois and Washington, DC.”

Jason: “If it’s a cash purchase and there’s no mortgage on the deal, Angela and the Title Forward team can do it where they operate. In addition to the above, that includes Colorado, Georgia, Wisconsin, South Jersey, Orlando, Tampa, and South Florida. Further, Redfin Mortgage is also available in Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado and Georgia.”

How much time does an eClosing take to complete?

Jason: “A digital closing usually takes about 45 minutes, compared to around 2 hours for a typical paper closing. You don’t have to take time off work or hire a babysitter or travel a long distance to get it done.

Are there extra fees associated with closing a home online?

Jason: “With Redfin Mortgage and Title Forward, there is no additional charge for this service. It’s free!”

What’s next for fully digital home closings?

Jason: “Right now our signing experience has a notary’s face on one panel and your documents in the other. Next, instead of seeing one face, you’ll be able to see multiple. Your real estate agent or mortgage adviser can attend, much like in a traditional closing. We’re also making it possible for two people to sign at the same time from different locations on a non-cash deal.”


If you’re starting the home search, visit Redfin Mortgage to find out what you can afford and get pre-approved for a loan. Once you’ve found your dream home, contact Title Forward to learn more about our title insurance and settlement services.

The post How Does a Fully Digital Home Closing Work? appeared first on Redfin Real-Time.

Do Patriots or Rams fans have it better when it comes to life in these coastal cities?

This Sunday promises an age old tradition–pitting the East and West Coasts against each other. Oh yeah, and a ton of chips, dip, commercials, and some football action, too.

The Los Angeles Rams will face off against the New England Patriots to see who will take home football’s biggest title. The victor also wins serious hometown bragging rights. With that in mind, we talked to Redfin real estate agents and broke down each city to determine which city is best to call home.

“Boston is a vibrant, energetic city, with a good cross section of job opportunities and social and recreational activities, whether you’re right out of college or a more mature professional,” said Boston-based Redfin agent Dan Sharry. “It’s home to some of the world’s top universities, and both Boston and Cambridge have emerged as exciting top tech hubs on the East Coast. Plus, it’s compact, with four unique seasons–and we don’t have those six-lane freeways,” he said, a nod to the competition.

LA Redfin agent Alec Traub was quick with a worthy rebuttal. “While the rest of the country is minus 20 or 30 degrees, it’s 70 and sunny in LA,” he said. “LA is diverse and eclectic. There’s beach, mountains, desert, a huge food scene, and of course, Hollywood! But also a booming tech sector with people from San Francisco and Seattle moving to ‘Silicon Beach.’”

But what about the housing markets? Grab your favorite game-time snack and read on to see who takes home our housing bowl, without commercial breaks.

First Quarter: Affordability

Boston: According to Redfin data, the median home sale price in the Boston metro area was $451,000 in December, and a median of $268 per square foot. Redfin’s recent affordability report found that 55 percent of homes for sale in the metro area in 2018 were affordable on a median income.

LA: As of December 2018, the median sale price for homes in the Los Angeles metro area was $599,000, with a median of $406 per square foot. Redfin’s affordability report found that just 16 percent of homes for sale last year were affordable on a median income.

Winner: Boston. While both areas are expensive, Boston homes are less expensive on average than Los Angeles, and more affordable to the middle class.

Second Quarter: Real Estate Competition

Boston: It’s a hot market in Beantown, earning a Redfin Compete Score of 89 out of 100. Redfin found that the average home for sale in the city of Boston receives three offers and goes under contract in around 15 days, with the hottest homes selling for 2 percent above list price on average.

LA: While temps are warmer in Southern California, the Redfin Compete Score is cooler, with a 78 out of 100. That’s still quite competitive, and the average home for sale in the city of LA also typically receives three offers and goes under contract in around 41 days.

Winner: LA. While Boston boasts a piping hot market and super fast sales, we’re giving this quarter to LA, for being a bit more within reach for buyers with a lower Compete Score.

Third Quarter: Aspiration

Boston: New England QB Tom Brady has an estimated net worth of $44 million, is the world’s 15th highest-paid athlete, and is married to supermodel Gisele Bündchen, making them the second-highest paid celebrity couple. And they live like it. They once owned a mansion with a–wait for it–moat in LA, but now live in a palatial palace in Brookline, MA. Giselle opened their doors to Vogue, revealing a custom compound with five bedrooms, and a stunning, airy kitchen.