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44 | M REPORT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Buyer Demand Slips, Showing Signs of Market Cooldown New listings fell 8.2% year over year, while the share of home sellers dropping their asking price was the highest recorded in five months. A ccording to a new report form Redfin, homebuyer demand softened further over the last several weeks, as a typical slump in buying and selling over Easter and Passover weekend amplified a recent slowdown triggered by surg- ing mortgage rates and housing costs. An estimated one in eight sell- ers cut their list prices during the four weeks ending April 17—the highest share in five months—and asking prices declined slightly from the previous four-week period. Redfin's Homebuyer Demand Index fell 4% year over year during the holiday week in its first drop since June. Mortgage applications and online searches for "homes for sale" also dropped. More buyers have halted their search as home prices have hit historic highs, and mortgage rates have jumped past 5%. The median home-sale price is up 17% year over year to a record $392,750, while mortgage rates are now at the highest level since April 2010, sending the typical homebuyer's monthly payment up 38% to an all- time high of $2,318. Some measures of competition, including the share of homes selling above list price and the share selling in one week, continue to hit new records. "The lull in homebuying and selling activity that we saw over Easter and Passover is likely to continue well past the holiday weekend," Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said. "The forces causing many homebuyers to pump the brakes are still in place—increasing mort- gage rates and record-high home prices. We expect price increases to slow and buyers in bidding wars to face fewer competing offers, but substantial relief for homebuyers is unfortunately still well beyond the horizon since the housing market is still tilted further in sellers' favor than at any time in history." Leading indicators of homebuy- ing activity: