Thankfully, the market has cooled significantly from last year’s competitive conditions and rapid home sales. However, the cooling market means that homes are now staying on the market for much longer, whether or not they sell.
As of the week of October 16, Days on Zillow – Zillow's measure of the median amount of time that a for-sale listing has been on the market – was 54 days, up from the series’ lowest-ever recorded value of just 19 days in early April and from 38 days in the same week in 2021. Those that are thinking about listing their home today should expect it to be on the market until Christmas – about two weeks later than what would have been expected last year.
At this pace, Days on Zillow is likely to reach 68 days by the end of the year, 10 days higher than at the end of 2021. Days on Zillow increased by seven days in the month ending October 22, 2022. The same period in 2019 saw an increase of just three days. In 2018, the measure rose by five days in that span.
Many would-be home sellers are holding onto their existing homes rather than listing them for sale, likely as a result of increasing interest rates. Through September, 7% fewer for-sale listings have entered the market in 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
With fewer homes entering the for-sale market, existing for-sale inventory represents a larger share of overall inventory, leaving Days on Zillow to naturally increase as these for-sale listings age. The share of inventory taken up by listings that have been on the market for seven days or fewer is down 42% compared to last year.
The share of inventory that has been on the market for at least 60 days rose to 46% in mid-October.
Markets that saw intense home price appreciation during the pandemic are seeing both days to pending and Days on Zillow trending up together, showing that competition is subsiding. A typical home in Austin took 8 days to go under contract in March. Now the typical Austin home that went under contract goes pending in a whopping 52 days – a six-week increase, and a level not seen since December 2018.
