Sometimes trends go in the right direction and other times they head in the wrong direction. According to the latest HouseCanary report it's the latter.
HouseCanary's Feburary Market Pulse report found activity in terms of net new listings placed on the market has plummeted by 15.3% in comparison to February 2023, signaling a sluggish start to the year for the real estate sector.
Despite the anticipation of increased activity with the onset of spring, typically a busy period for the housing market, signs of movement remain scarce. Echoing trends observed earlier in the year, market activity across various metrics continues to lag behind previous years' standards.
While inventory has experienced an 11.7% increase from the same period last year, overall levels remain subdued, intensifying pressure on the market. In February 2024, market activity witnessed a stark decline in net new listings and contract volume compared to the same period in 2023.
“In January, we saw net new listings and contract volumes trend at multi-year seasonal lows," HouseCanary Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Sicklick said. "Although those metrics are slightly up versus last month, the housing market is still facing significant pressures. The Federal Reserve has all but confirmed that rates will continue to hover around the 7% mark, continuing to keep many potential buyers wary of a purchase and potential sellers unwilling to part with their current rate."
Sicklick continued, “Inventory levels, although showing improvement compared to the past two years, continue to hover at historically low levels. Despite this, both listed and closed prices have demonstrated positive growth compared to February 2023, indicating a general uptrend in home prices. We anticipate a subdued spring buying season and expect current trends to persist until there's a noticeable shift in interest rates or home prices."
Key takeaways from the report:
Over the past 52 weeks, 2,502,785 net new listings were introduced to the market, with 2,570,447 properties going under contract. This reflects a decline of 15.3% and 11.7%, respectively.
In February 2024, 189,394 net new listings were added to the market, with 243,305 properties going under contract, marking a decline of 10.6% and 2.2%, respectively, compared to February 2023.
The drop in net new listings was attributed to a 7.6% decrease in new listing volume, coupled with a 4.4% increase in removals compared to February 2023.
The median days on market stands at 45, up 2.3% from the previous year.
The median price of all single-family listings was $430,557, with the median closed price at $405,992. Year-over-year, the median price of all single-family listings witnessed a 3.3% increase, while the median price of closed listings surged by 8.3%. Month-over-month, the median price of single-family listings saw a marginal increase of 0.2%, whereas the median price of closed listings surged by 3.7%.
