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GOOD NEWS FOR HOMEBUYERS: LISTINGS ARE UP While the market is still certainly challenging to buyers, Zillow's latest housing market report brings some much-welcomed news for frustrated home shoppers.
In August, sellers decided to put about 4% more homes on the market compared to July. This might seem like an unexpected twist since we typically see fewer listings in late summer. However, Zillow's economist, Jeff Tucker, mentioned in the report that this doesn't necessarily signal a shift towards a buyer's market. Tucker wrote, "This unusual late-summer boost to supply should help to ease market conditions even more than the seasonal cooldown expected at this time of year." He added, "Total inventory remains low, but it bears watching to see if this marks the start of some modest relief for the bone-dry listings drought that began in earnest in July 2022" While new listings increased by 4% month-over-month, total inventory only went up by 2.2%. Compared to the same time last year, there were about 13% fewer active listings this August. However, this was a significant improvement over July when inventory fell by almost 27% year-over-year. The report also pointed out that the housing market peaked around May and June this year, and price growth has been slowing since then. In July, slightly fewer homes were sold above their asking price compared to June. Another positive sign for buyers is the rising percentage of listings with price reductions: 23.4% in August versus 21.8% in July. When looking at regional trends, it's a mixed bag. Most metros are still experiencing home price appreciation, but some regions are outperforming others. In the top 50 metros across the U.S., 29 have higher home values today than they did a year ago. Hartford, Connecticut, leads the pack with home values up nearly 10% in the last year, followed by Milwaukee at 8.1%, Virginia Beach (5.7%), Philadelphia (5.5%), and Providence, Rhode Island (5.3%). Major Midwest cities like Cincinnati, Cleveland, and St. Louis have also seen home values rise by 4% or more in the past year. However, some markets that saw a surge during the pandemic are now at the bottom of the list for price appreciation. Austin's home values are down 11.4% from a year ago, according to Zillow, while New Orleans, Phoenix, and Las Vegas have seen home prices drop by at least 6% in the same period. In total, 21 metros have seen home values decline in the last year.
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