The housing market has lost about 14,000 home sellers over the past two months, according to data from the Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) division Redfin. This marked the first decline in sellers in two years.
By the end of July, the total number of home sellers was 1.95 million, down from a peak of 1.96 million in May. This is according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. However, sellers still outnumber buyers there were an estimated 1.43 million homebuyers in the housing market in July, which was the lowest level on record not counting the onset of the pandemic. With 36.3% more sellers in the market than buyers (or 518,801 more), this creates the largest seller-buyer imbalance in records dating back to 2013.
Among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, Miami had the most lopsided market with an estimated 21,637 home sellers and 8,293 homebuyers – or 160.9% more sellers than buyers.
Redfin noted the declining number of sellers created a downturn in inventory, which sparked a rise in home prices. The median home sale price rose 1.4% year-over-year in July to $434,189, which is the highest July level on record. In comparison, at the beginning of the year home price growth was starting to shrink.
“Homebuyers are spooked by high home prices, high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty, and now sellers are spooked because buyers are spooked,” said Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan. “Some sellers are delisting their homes or choosing not to list at all after seeing other houses sit on the market for weeks or months, only to fetch less than the asking price.”
If conventional Fannie/Freddie existing loans could be assumed it could open the market and created Billions in existing financing at below market rates and be a spur to both buyers and sellers
Definitely to much unknown as to where things are headed in this country right now. Home prices remain inflated and interest rates are less than ideal. At some point something has to break.
Too
Part of the problem is that sellers kept hearing about all the multiple offers and inflated prices sellers were getting in the years when the market was crazy, but it has slowed and sellers are still expecting those inflated prices. Sorry, but we are no longer in the same market and that is also why more houses are sitting longer. Sellers are selling at reduced prices and that is because many times they had too high of expectations in the first place and now have seen they are not going to get those same prices.