The U.S. housing market showed signs of normalizing in August, with more homes coming on the market and price growth slowing, according to a report Thursday from realtor.com.
New listings ticked up 4.3% year over year in August, although inventory was down 25.8% compared to the same time in 2020, the data showed. That’s an improvement compared to July, when inventory was down 33.5% annually.
In addition, asking prices did not rise as quickly in August. The median listing price registered an 8.6% year-over-year price increase in August, to $380,000, down from July’s record price of $385,000, the report found. However, it’s also nearly 20% more than August 2019.
“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,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com, said in the report. Sellers also “began adjusting listing prices to better compete with an uptick in inventory,” she continued.
Indeed, the number of sellers who adjusted the price of their listing was up 0.7% last month compared to August 2020, the data showed. That means 17.3% of active inventory has seen a price change.
“It’s still a strong seller’s market, with homes selling quickly at record-high prices,” Ms. Hale said. “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.”
There were price gains of more than 10% in 18 of the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S., according to the reporter. Austin, Texas, was in the lead with 36% growth, followed by Las Vegas, 22.9%; Tampa, Florida, 20%; Riverside, California, 17.6%; and Orlando, Florida, 15.4%.
Article by Mansion Global.