According to Zillow’s Weekly Market Report, pending home sales fell for the second consecutive week; however, they are still above last year’s levels. Week-over-week, newly pending sales fell 0.9 percent—13.8 percent higher YoY.
Despite falling pending home sales this past week, other market indicators show a hot market. In terms of days on market, last week, homes were typically on the market for 14 days—11 days faster than last year. And for pricing, the share of listings with a price cut remains steady, holding at 4.2 percent last week—1.3 percent lower YoY.
Sellers are still holding back, however. New for-sale listings decreased 3.6 percent WoW—15.8 percent lower YoY. Total listings are down 26.9 percent YoY and 0.9 percent from the previous week.
List prices continue to rise. According to the report, the median list price in the U.S. is currently $343,680—6.6 percent higher YoY. And for the week ending June 20, the median sale price was $266,805—1.4 percent higher YoY.
“Record-low mortgage rates are helping fuel a brisk pace of home sales later into this summer than normal, but buyers are having to compete over fewer and fewer listings,” said Zillow economist Jeff Tucker. “The flow of new listings has recovered somewhat, but not fast enough to replace all the recent sales, so inventory continues to plumb new record lows. There’s no single reason sellers have been slow to return, but some possibilities include reluctance to having strangers tour their home, concerns about difficulty getting their next home and an assumption that they couldn’t sell for a high price right now.”
Realtor.com®’s Weekly Recovery Report paints a similar picture. The portal’s Housing Market Recovery Index reached 103.8 nationwide for the week ending Aug. 1—a 0.1-point increase WoW, bringing the Index 3.8 points above the pre-COVID baseline.
The Weekly Recovery Report also found that time on market is four days faster than last year, and median listing prices have grown 9.4 percent YoY. In addition, new listings were down 11 percent for the week, while total inventory was down 35 percent.
Regionally, realtor.com® posted the following Index ratings: West (110.5), Northeast (108.2), South (99.5) and Midwest (98.8). According to the portal, a total of 29 markets have crossed the recovery benchmark, with the greatest recovery happening in New York, Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia.
“Real estate activity in the U.S. has regained its strength and continues on an upward trajectory as we enter the middle of the summer,” said Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com®. “However, a sustained seller comeback still hinges on back-to-school plans and extended lockdowns. The housing market will need to remain above pre-COVID levels for at least another 10 weeks to make up for the lost activity in the second quarter of the year. As we head into fall, an anticipated resurgence in COVID cases and economic aftershocks are likely to create an uphill battle for home buyers and sellers.”
