US housing market In addition to rising home prices, the New Year was hit hard by extreme weather ranging from wildfires in Southern California to freezing cold and snow in the Northeast, Midwest, and South.

Those factors dampened home tours and led to a decline in expected sales for the four weeks ending Jan. 12, according to real estate brokerage firm Redfin.

Still, Redfin said it's “too early in the new year to determine how the 2025 housing market will shape up.”

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Redfin's Home Buyer Demand Index is a seasonally adjusted measure of tours and demand. other purchase services From Redfin agents, it fell 11% for the month, marking its lowest level since August.

A for sale sign is shown outside a home for sale on August 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Expected home sales fell 8.4% year over year, marking the biggest decline since October 2023. New listings marked the biggest annual decline since September 2023, falling 3.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Active listings rose 9.8% year-over-year, the smallest increase in nearly a year, according to Redfin data.

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Meanwhile, the national average housing payment is also at its highest level in two months. Home prices rose 5.8% year-on-year and average daily mortgage rates also hit their highest level since May last week.

Home buying demand and listings are especially high in California, the Los Angeles metro area due to moistened to the wildfires that started earlier this month.

Homes burn as strong winds carry the Eaton Fire in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2025. (David McNew/Getty Images/Getty Images)

In turn, Redfin said this has increased demand for IDPs to buy and rent. In particular, pending sales in Los Angeles fell 4% year over year and new listings fell 2.5% in the four weeks ended January 12. Redfin doesn't believe the decline would have been as large had the wildfires not started.

Redfin also predicts bigger declines in the coming weeks.

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“Many Redfin agents work to help people find rental homes as quickly as possible,” said Los Angeles-based Redfin Premier agent Susan Brown. “My advice to people looking for an apartment is to contact an estate agent directly for help as rents are going up very quickly.”

June 14, 2022 Crockett, California, “for sale” sign. (Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In other regions of the country, cold weather and snow are also bothering buyers. According to the agency, it also delays homeowners putting their homes up for sale.