As Prices Rise, Homes Stay on the Market for Longer

Elevated housing costs are keeping homes trapped on the market. Since the start of the pandemic, homes are selling at their slowest pace, with data from housing market platform Redfin showing homes are staying on the market for an average of 54 days before selling. Compared with the same period in 2022—during the height of the pandemic homebuying boom—the typical home sold in 35 days. Currently, there are more than five months of supply on the market, the most seen since early 2019.

“Prospective buyers have been cautious because they’ve seen homes sitting on the market and they’ve heard interest rates and prices may drop. When the market isn’t competitive, some buyers think they should wait for costs to go down,” said Jordan Hammond, a Redfin Premier agent in Raleigh, N.C. “Now it’s pretty clear that sellers aren’t slashing asking prices and mortgage rates aren’t plummeting, so mindsets are shifting. People are starting to believe that if they want or need to move, and they can afford to, they should do it.” Read more