The recent real estate rollercoaster is finally heading in a direction beneficial for buyers.
After report upon report on the national housing shortage, at last the tides have turned: According to last month’s data, the inventory of active listings across America increased more than 30% since 2021 — a record-high growth rate.
That’s according to Realtor.com’s July housing market trends report, which further found that July marked the third consecutive month of unprecedented inventory growth rates.
“Nationally, the inventory of homes actively for sale on a typical day in July increased by 30.7% over the past year, the largest increase in inventory in the data history and higher than last month’s growth rate of 18.7% which was itself record-breaking,” the July report notes. In terms of listing numbers, this means that potential buyers saw 176,000 more homes when searching last month than they would have in 2021.
The increase in available homes — the first of its kind since September 2019 — is a sign that the housing market “is continuing to move toward more balance” with homebuyers now having more options at their disposal, the report analyzed.
“With inventories increasing, buyers will have more negotiating power,” Realtor’s chief economist, Danielle Hale, told Bloomberg, adding that pandemic advantages are now a thing of the past for homeowners. “The two years of a market heavily tipped in favor of sellers appears to be in the rearview mirror.”
The record-breaking trend and breath of relief for buyers coincides, however, with median asking prices that remain eye-watering: In June, the median nationwide list price was $449,000, a 17% increase from 2021 and closest to the highest it’s ever been, Bloomberg reported.
Increasing mortgage rates have also had a significant impact and cooling effect on the market recently.