Buyers are finding greater selection in their house hunt as new listings increase above pre-pandemic levels, according to realtor.com®’s latest Weekly Recovery Report, reflecting the week ending Aug. 8. The increase in new listings now brings all four major components of housing activity tracked on the index—also including housing demand, asking prices, and pace of sales—above the pre-pandemic baseline of January 2020. (emphasis added)
But beware: It’s a jungle out there! Buyers still face stiff competition in a hot market.
“After five long months, sellers are back in the housing market; while encouraging, the improvement to new listings is only the first step in the long road to solving low inventory issues keeping many buyers at bay.”
While new listings growth has recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels, it still remains down 6% year over year, realtor.com® reports. “The small number of homes for sale has been a key limited factor for buyers in the market, so continued recovery in new listings bodes well for home sales in the coming months,” realtor.com® reports.
Meanwhile, homes are selling four days faster than a year ago, and median listing prices jumped 9.9% over a year ago, realtor.com® reports. “The combination of eager buyers, low mortgage rates, and dwindling for-sale homes set the stage for further price increases,” realtor.com® notes in its report. “But the tide could be turning as sellers come back to the market and new construction picks up. This could help price growth move back to a more normal rate of increase.
Takeaway: Your real estate professional needs to understand the jungle and know how to help your offer rise to the top of the stack. Ready to talk?
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