More sellers are listing their homes, but that doesn’t mean buyers are as active. According to a recent report from real estate marketing platform Redfin, the housing market now has five months’ worth of for-sale supply, the highest since early 2019 and up from 4.4 months of supply a year ago. New listings rose 7.4% year-over-year, reaching their highest level since 2022. After early 2022, rising mortgage rates led many homeowners to stay put, but that trend is now easing. However, pending home sales have dropped 6%, continuing the decline seen since the start of the year.
But more homebuyers may come out of the woodwork soon. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index—a measure of tours and other buying services from Redfin agents—is up slightly from the six-month low it dropped to in late January, and agents report they’re seeing more house hunters.
“I’ve met with a lot of potential sellers over the last few weeks. Listings typically pick up in March or April, but this year it’s happening earlier,” said Fernanda Kriese, a Redfin Premier agent in Las Vegas. “Some of the sellers are listing because they bought just a few years ago and their home value isn’t increasing as quickly as they’d like, so they’re cutting their losses and moving to a less expensive home. Some are retirees who are downsizing. Buyers have been sidelined this year because of high mortgage rates and uncertainty surrounding politics and the economy, but some are starting to come off the fence.” Read more
