Bidding wars are growing a lot less common, real estate pros report. By one measure, only 11.2% of offers written by Redfin real estate agents for their clients faced a bidding war in July—down more than 45% from a year earlier. That is also the lowest rate since at least 2011.

Bidding wars have been gradually lessening in the housing market since peaking in March 2018, where 59% of real estate professionals reported competition in offers. Since November 2018, the bidding war rate has not surpassed 15%, Redfin reports.

“Mortgage rates have been mostly flat for the last month, and so has the home buyer competition, which was beginning a fast descent this time last year as mortgage rates were inching toward 5 percent,” says Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “On a local level, it’s noteworthy that some of 2018’s fiercely competitive markets—San Jose, Seattle, Los Angeles—have seen their bidding war rates plummet the most year over year. Home prices in these expensive markets have also been falling annually.”

Overall, Fairweather predicts homebuying demand to strengthen in the second half of the year and the housing market to continue to stabilize. “But we may not see a big pop in bidding wars until early next year,” she adds.

While the numbers are down from a year ago, the following markets saw the highest number of bidding wars in July, according to Redfin’s index:

1. San Francisco: 35% (down from 72.4% a year ago)
2. San Diego: 21.3% (down from 61.5% a year ago)
3. Boston: 16.4% (down from 63.6% a year ago)
4. Los Angeles: 16% (down from 64.6% a year ago)
5. Philadelphia: 14.3% (down from 36.7% a year ago)
6. Denver: 14% (down from 48.8% a year ago)
7. Phoenix: 13.6% (down from 47.6% a year ago)
8. San Jose: 13.3% (down from 80% a year ago)
9. Sacramento, Calif.: 9.4% (down from 39.2% a year ago)
10. Washington, D.C.: 9.1% (down from 40.1% a year ago)

Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index surged to a new high as consumers became more upbeat about buying and selling, mortgage rates, and their jobs. Five of the six components measured by the index rose month over month.

“Consumer job confidence and favorable mortgage rate expectations lifted the HPSI to a new survey high in July, despite ongoing housing supply and affordability challenges,” says Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s senior vice president and chief economist. “Consumers appear to have shaken off a winter slump in sentiment amid strong income gains. Therefore, sentiment is positioned to take advantage of any supply that comes to market, particularly in the affordable category. However, recent financial market events following when the survey data were collected could weigh on consumer views looking ahead.”

Overall, the HPSI, based on a survey of 1,000 Americans, rose 7.2 points compared to a year ago to a record-high reading of 93.7 in July. Here are some highlights from the index’s latest readings:

• Buying: The net share of Americans who said now is a good time to buy a home rose 3 percentage points from June to 26%, up 2 percentage points from a year ago.
• Selling: The net share of consumers who say it’s a good time to sell rose 1 percentage point to 44%, up 3 percentage points from a year ago.
• Home prices: The share of Americans who say home prices will go up over the next 12 months fell 1 percentage point to 37%, down 2 percentage points from a year ago.
• Mortgage rates: The share of consumers who believe mortgage rates will drop over the next year rose 1 percentage point and is up 24 percentage points from a year ago.
• Job stability: Americans are more confident about their job situation, with the share who say they’re not concerned about losing their job over the next year rising 8 percentage points to 81%. This is up 16 percentage points from a year ago.
• Household incomes: The share of Americans who say their household income is significantly higher than 12 months ago rose by 1 percentage point to 21%, essentially unchanged from a year ago.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage barely budged this week, remaining low at a 3.75% average, Freddie Mac reports.

“Mortgage rates have essentially stabilized over the last two months, which reflects the recovery and improvement in the economy from the malaise earlier in the year,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Going forward, the combination of low mortgage rates, tight labor market, and high consumer confidence should set up the housing market for continued improvement in home sales heading into late summer and early fall.”

Freddie Mac reports the following national averages with mortgage rates for the week ending Aug. 1, 2019:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.75%, with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from last week’s average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.60%.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.20%, with an average 0.5 point, rising from last week’s 3.18% average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 4.08%.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 3.46%, with an average 0.4 point, falling from last week’s 3.47% average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.93%.