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Recently, experts (like those at Redfin) have noticed a cooling of the housing market to pre-peak levels. However, it’s important to note that home prices rose 16 percent and inventory declined 6 percent year-over-year in August, the change came in the form of mortgage applications. MarketWatch cites a 7 percent increase on a weekly basis in home mortgage applications for the week ending September 10.

According to MarketWatch, that decline is most likely driven by new homes specifically and that existing home listings were actually on the rise. A housing crisis resulting from years of insufficient building of new homes and even shortages on materials are the culprits here for such a decline. An increase in listings means buyers returning to market but does that also mean another round of bidding wars? According to Redfin, maybe not.

While bidding wars this year are happening more often than what we saw in 2020, the market experienced a decline in July to 60.1 percent, down from 66.5 percent in June, in home offers written by Redfin agents that saw competition. The cause? An increase in listings and even seasonality as Redfin cites an ease in competition after the springs competitive market. By checking out the article linked above, you’ll also find an interesting chart listing the top metropolitan areas where Redfin agents saw the most competition. There, you’ll find Fort Collins (CO), Orlando (FL), and Nashville (TN) among the top three areas with the most competition.

So, if we’re finally seeing an increase in listings, and a resulting rise in mortgage applications, it stands to reason we find ourselves with a new wave of homebuyers in need of mortgage professionals. Is your team ready?

Build Your Mortgage Team With Confidence

If you’re thinking it might be time to start recruiting a couple new loan originators, you’ll want to take advantage of The Warren Group’s Loan Originator Module which captures data on the highest-ranking loan originators in your area. You’ll be able to access the most comprehensive mortgage and property database to monitor competitors, watch for market trends, and locate and compare loan officer activity to make sure your team is performing at peak productivity.

Benchmark Your Lending Productivity

Looking to set fresh benchmarks to increase performance? Utilize our Mortgage MarketShare Module to identify new and emerging market trends, identify your own market share, and monitor how your sales performance compares to that of your competition in real-time. If you’re ready to utilize the markets most reliable source of real estate data to give your team a performance boost, reach out to one of our data specialists and ask what The Warren Group can do to meet your business needs.