The U.S. housing market offered buyers more breathing room to make decisions in August, with the first year-over-year increase in time on market since June 2020, according to the Realtor.com Monthly Housing Trends Report released today.
Additionally, August home shoppers had more active listings to choose from than last year as the national inventory climbed 26.6% year-over-year, even as new sellers continued to pull back.
"For many of today's buyers, the uptick in for-sale home options is taking away the sense of urgency that they felt during the past two years, when inventory was scarce. As a result of this shift coupled with higher mortgage rates, competition continued to cool in August, with listing price trends indicating that home sellers are noticing shoppers tightening their purse strings," Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com, said. "As we soak up the last days of summer, the housing market is beginning to find more balance between buyer-friendliness and still favorable selling conditions. Location also matters; our 2022 Hottest ZIP Codes show that competition for homes remains fierce in many markets in the Northeast, which was also the only region where inventory declined from 2021 levels in August. Regardless of where you live, it's important to rate-proof your budget by contingency planning for various monthly housing cost scenarios, as mortgage rates will likely continue to fluctuate through end-of-year."
In August, national time on market increased year-over-year for the first time in 26 months, and also grew in the vast majority of large metros. A typical home spent 42 days on market, which is five days longer than last year and the first increase since June 2020, but still 22 days faster than in 2017-2019, on average.
Time on market was lower across the 50 largest U.S. metros (37 days, on average) relative to the national median, but also slowed from the August 2021 pace (+5 days) in the same markets.
National listing prices continued to grow by double-digits year-over-year in August, but the pace decelerated for the third month in a row. The U.S. median listing price was $435,000 in August, down from June's record-high ($450,000), but still 36.9% higher than in August 2019.
Among the 50 largest U.S. metros, August's biggest annual listing price gains were in Miami (+33.4%), Memphis, Tenn. (+25.8%) and Milwaukee (+25.0%). Nationwide, 19.4% of active listings had their price reduced.
Active inventory continued to recover in August even as new listings declined. On a typical day in August, the U.S. inventory of active listings grew 26.6% year-over-year, just shy of last month's record-fast pace (30.7%). Aside from the Northeast (-2.4%), active inventory grew in all major regions, led by the West (+70.8%) and followed by the South (+56.3%) and Midwest (+6.5%). New listings grew in just eight markets, led by Nashville, which upped 25.5%.
