Housing Inventory Recovery Continues At A Breakneck Speed, Giving Buyers More Choices
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Loading... - Phoebe Edwards
- 03 Mar 2023
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The supply of homes for sale rose at a record annual pace for the sixth month in a row, up 68% year over year in February. It signals the housing market’s continued rebalancing, according to a recent housing trend survey. Despite the significant increase in inventory over last year’s record lows, home prices are still growing, albeit at a slower pace of 8% over last February, a sign of still-high hopes from sellers entering the market.
In a market with conditions that don’t particularly favor buyers or sellers, both will likely have to make compromises to make a deal happen. As mortgage rates continue to fluctuate and increase the cost of buying a home, it’s important for sellers to price their home appropriately to attract buyers in the market. For buyers, it’s critical they make the best offer they can on a home that fits their needs and budget.
“The number of homes for sale on the market is up significantly from a year ago, even though fewer homeowners have listed their home for sale in recent months,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com, adding that high home prices and mortgage rates continue to cut into buyer interest and homes are taking more than three weeks longer to sell than last year.
She explained, “With a smaller pool of buyers today and more competition from other homes on the market, home sellers will likely need to adjust their price expectations in the market this spring.”
“For many, shopping for a new home often begins or picks up as we head into the warmer months, which is right around the corner,” said Clare Trapasso, executive news editor at Realtor.com. “Potential buyers looking to take advantage of more homes to choose from and a less competitive pace also have more negotiating power than they did a year ago. So if a home has been on the market a while without receiving any offers, they may want the seller to contribute to their closing costs, make expensive repairs, or even buy down their mortgage rate.”
The supply of homes for sale continued to rise in February at a record annual pace, driven mostly by low interest from buyers facing high home and mortgage costs rather than an influx of new homes for sale to the market. Despite a significant increase in the number of homes for sale in recent months as existing home sales and demand slow, there are still fewer homes available to buy nationwide on a typical day than there were a few years ago. Read More…
