Conditions for home sellers are shifting.
According to new realtor.com® research, although gains in home prices are still strong, more listings have had their prices reduced—an indication that multiple-offer scenarios are shrinking, and homebuyers have more options.
Across the country this month, 15 percent of listings had prices reduced, the research shows. Last January, the figure was 13 percent.
Where are cuts happening the most? Thirty-nine, or 78 percent, of the 50 largest markets in the nation had more listings with lowered prices, with Las Vegas leading the way, at 16 percent.
Days on market, or how long a property sits, is speeding up, as well. In January, the average home was on the market for 87 days—two days faster than in Jan. 2018. However, the rate’s slowing; back then, days on market was seven days faster than the prior year.
Comparing the 50 largest markets to the past year, the average listing took one more day to sell, the research shows. Homes in San Jose sat for 27 more days than they did in the past year, the highest increase of the largest markets. In Birmingham, the average home sold 14 days sooner, the biggest leap of the metros.
There was expanded inventory in January, but concentrated in the higher tiers, where demand is not as strong, according to realtor.com’s research. Housing inventory in the $750,000-plus range rose 12 percent year-over-year, while $200,000-level listings sunk 6 percent. Inventory rose significantly in:
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. – 128% YoY
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. – 91% YoY
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. – 58% YoY
- San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. – 46% YoY
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. – 36% YoY
- Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn. – 36% YoY
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. – 34% YoY
- Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif. – 28% YoY
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. – 27% YoY
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas – 25% YoY
“The U.S. housing market is off to a slower start this year in many markets, compared to the rapid acceleration we saw last January,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com. “Although the market is slowing, it’s important to remember that we’re coming off of four straight years of inventory declines that pushed the market to a record low availability of homes for sale.
“The real metric to keep an eye on is entry-level homes, which are the key to getting today’s market back in balance,” Hale says. “These homes are still in short supply.”
For more information, please visit www.realtor.com.
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.
