It’s official—the coronavirus pandemic has pushed inventory levels even lower, tilting the market environment in favor of sellers who aren’t budging on price.
According to a new Zillow report, as of June 27, only 4.1 percent of all homes on the market experienced a price cut—lower than the 5.6 percent at the same time last year. Price cuts flatlined from February through March at 4 percent, according to Zillow. April saw an annual low of 2.9 percent.
Of the 50 largest U.S. metros, the following have the lowest share of listings with price cuts: New York (2.8 percent), Miami (3.3 percent) and Riverdale (3.8 percent). These metros have the largest share of price cuts: Denver (9.1 percent), Indianapolis (7.4 percent) and Chicago (6.9 percent).
In April, a Zillow survey reported that 59 percent of sellers believed the pandemic would create a buyer’s market; however, with inventory down 21 percent YoY and coupled with high buyer demand, homes are selling quickly and are receiving multiple bids.
“This may be our strongest signal yet that sellers have the upper hand in the housing market today—and they know it,” said Jeff Tucker, economist at Zillow. “Many buyers still think they can make lowball offers and score a great deal in the midst of today’s economic turbulence, but sellers are holding firm on list prices. For-sale inventory has been setting new record lows this spring, so sellers know that buyers are starved for options. Despite the lack of price cuts, sellers are still able to sell their homes faster than they did this time last year.”
For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.
