Healthy Increase of Listings Could Be on the Horizon

A new survey by Realtor.com found a significant share of homeowners plan to list their homes this year. The online survey asked nearly 4,000 people about their purchasing and selling plans, with 10% of current homeowners saying they have plans to list in 2021. Even better for the housing market is the fact that more than half of these listings would be considered more affordably priced. Another 16% of homeowners have plans to sell in two to three years. Compared to the typical rate of listing homes per year, which is 8%, these shares are significantly higher, bringing hope that relief will soon come for buyers.

“A large influx of homes for sale would be welcome news for housing, especially as shrinking affordability has placed a wedge between many young buyers and their desired neighborhoods,” he adds. “More new homes would mean less competition, which would translate into a slowdown in the steep price growth we’ve experienced.

Typically, only about 8% of homeowners put their homes up for sale a year. This is about a 25% anticipated increase, which translates into about 1.5 million more homes. The increase may be due to folks holding off on selling their homes during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

It still won’t be enough to fully relieve the current historic housing shortage—compounded by the fact that builders haven’t been able to put up enough homes to keep up with the increasing population, particularly millennials who are now in prime home-buying years. But it’s a start.

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