Active listings of homes for sale during August were down by 1.4% from July, according to data from Redfin. This marked the largest seasonally adjusted decline since June 2023.
Although active listings last month were up 9.7% year-over-year, this marked the smallest year-over-year increase since March 2024. New listings dipped 1.1% month-over-month to the lowest seasonally adjusted level since January 2024 and were also down 2.6% year-over-year.
Redfin attributed the decline to sellers responding to sluggish homebuyer activity, with sales far below pre-pandemic levels. Declining mortgage rates have sparked a spike in refinancing activity among existing homeowners but have yet to incentivize many prospective homebuyers who are still waiting for a further decline in rates.
“High housing costs and economic jitters have rattled buyers, and that unease has spilled over to sellers. We currently expect existing-home sales to end the year at around 4.05 million, or roughly flat compared to 2024, which was the worst year for sales since 1995,” said Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics research. “The good news is mortgage rates have been falling, giving homebuyers more purchasing power. We have yet to see that translate into a significant bump in sales, but that may change if rates continue declining; if we get a stronger-than-expected fall housing market, existing-home sales could end this year a little higher than last year.”
