More Sellers Listing Homes as Buyers Seem to Hesitate

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – August housing data shows early signs of sellers beginning to compete for buyers, according to realtor.com’s monthly housing report. It says inventory, while still down year-to-year (25.8%), is still down less than it was just one month earlier (33.5%). The researchers also noted an increase in the rate of sellers making price adjustments.

In August, new listings rose 4.3% year-to-year as new sellers continued to list entry-level homes in more affordable price ranges. The share of sellers who made listing price adjustments grew 0.7% year-over-year to 17.3% of active inventory – the highest share in 21 months and closer to typical 2016-2019 levels.

“Low mortgage rates have motivated homebuyers to endure this year’s challenging market, and now some buyers are starting to see their persistence pay off,” says realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “This month, new sellers added more affordable entry-level homes to the market compared to last year, while others began adjusting listing prices to better compete with an uptick in inventory.”

Hale says it’s still a seller’s market – homes sell quickly and at record-high prices – but now “a home priced well and in good condition may see two or three bids compared to 10 last year. For sellers not seeing as many offers, it may be worth revisiting pricing strategies as buyers continue searching for homes that fit their budgets.”

Florida market changes on realtor.com’s website

Realtor.com includes four Florida metro areas in its study, and the results are mixed. Active listings on realtor.com’s website are down in all four year-to-year:

• Jacksonville: Down 43.2%
• Miami (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach): Down 46.6%
• Orlando (Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford): Down 47.7%
• Tampa (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater): Down 40.7%

However, the number of new listings in August rose in two metros, up 2.8% in Jacksonville and up 8.6% in the Tampa area, even as they fell year-to-year in Miami, down 10.2%, and Orlando, down 2.3%.

About one in five sellers reduced their prices in three of the four metros, realtor.com claims, but closer to one in 10 in Miami:

• Jacksonville: 20.6% reduced prices
• Miami: 11.7% reduced prices
• Orlando: 19.3% reduced prices
• Tampa: 20.7% reduced prices

Other findings in realtor.com’s monthly study for August

• August was the fourth consecutive month of national inventory improvements from the steepest 2021 declines seen in April (down 53.0%). However, the U.S. housing supply is still short 223,000 active listings compared with last year.
• Inventory improved at a faster pace across the 50 largest U.S. markets in August, down an average 20.7% year-over-year – but six metros saw inventory surpass 2020 levels.
• 432,000 new listings hit the national housing market in August, an increase of 18,000 over last year.
• There were more entry-level homes (up 6.4% for less than 1,750 square feet), while listings with 3,000-6,000 square feet declined 4.6%. The Tampa metro (up 13.7%) had one of the highest year-to-year gains for entry-level homes.
• The typical U.S. home spent 39 days on the market in August, 17 days faster than last year and 24 days faster than in the same month during 2017-2019, on average. However, time on market continues to moderate from the record-fast pace seen earlier in the pandemic, at two days slower in August than in June (37 days).