Redfin Real-Time Price Tracker: How Broker Data Provides Early Market Insights

For home buyers and sellers, timely and accurate market data is critical for making informed decisions. The Redfin Real-Time Price Tracker leverages direct access to brokerage data from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to provide early insights into monthly price, sales volume, and inventory trends, often ahead of major national indices. This report, along with companion surveys, aims to offer a comprehensive view of housing market dynamics.

How Does the Redfin Price Tracker Achieve Its Timeliness?

The primary advantage of this report stems from Redfin's dual role as a technology company and a licensed real estate brokerage. As brokers, Redfin agents have direct, immediate access to local MLS databases. The MLS is a professional system used by real estate agents to list properties and record finalized sales data. This direct pipeline means that sales are logged as they close, allowing Redfin to compile data for a given month shortly after it ends. This process often outpaces the release schedules of government agencies or composite indices that rely on aggregated public records, which can take additional months to process. The inaugural report, for example, featured data for May 2012 released shortly after that period.

What Methods Ensure the Accuracy of the Reported Data?

Timeliness is balanced with a commitment to data verification. The report's methodology includes a reconciliation process to enhance accuracy. When a sale is recorded in the MLS, Redfin cross-references it with official county clerk records once they become available. This step of double-checking the transaction details helps identify and correct any discrepancies between the agent-entered data and the final legal record. This layered approach aims to provide a reliable snapshot of market activity that is both current and validated.

Beyond Prices: What Other Market Insights Does Redfin Provide?

The Price Tracker is one component of a broader effort to increase market transparency. Redfin supplements the hard data with behavioral insights from its customer base. For instance, the Redfin Real-Time Home-Buyer Tracker, a quarterly survey of over 1,000 active buyers, provides context on buyer sentiment and motivations. These complementary reports help explain the "why" behind the numbers, creating a more holistic market analysis for anyone tracking real estate trends.

Key Takeaways for Buyers and Sellers

• Act on Earlier Data: The Redfin Price Tracker can serve as an early indicator of shifting market conditions, giving market participants a potential head start in their decision-making process.
• Value Broker-Level Access: Reports generated directly from MLS data can provide a more immediate perspective than those relying solely on public records, which have a longer lag time.
• Seek a Complete Picture: For a well-rounded understanding, combine data on prices and inventory with insights into buyer demand and sentiment, as seen in Redfin's companion reports.

For the full data, including charts and historical spreadsheets, the reports are typically housed within the research section of Redfin's website.