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More homeowners are listing their homes for sale, which is opening up options for anxious home buyers who have faced fierce competition the last few months over a limited housing stock.
New listings rose 5.1% in the 50 largest metros. The largest increases were in Columbus, Ohio (up 25.6%); Louisville, Ky. (up 22.8%); and Cleveland (up 21.6%), according to realtor.com®s newly released Monthly Housing Report.
Also, as more inventory and new listings arrived on the market in August, the rate of sellers making price adjustments has also begun to approach more normal levels, realtor.com® notes. The share of sellers who made listing price adjustments grew to 17.3% of active inventory, which is the highest share in 21 months and close to more typical levels that were seen between 2016 to 2019, researchers note.
Still, housing remains tight, even if with the additional inventory. U.S. housing inventory was down 25.8% year-over-year in August. That did mark an improvement over last month when inventories were down 33.5% annually.
Meanwhile, new listings were up 4.3% compared to a year ago.
“Low mortgage rates have motivated home buyers to endure this year’s challenging market and now some buyers are starting to see their persistence pay off,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “This month, new sellers added more affordable entry-level homes to the market compared to last year, while others began adjusting listing prices to better compete with an uptick in inventory.”
Housing remains a strong seller’s market as homes continue to sell quickly at record-high prices, Hale says. “But now a home priced well and in good condition may see two to three bids compared to 10 last year,” she notes. “For sellers not seeing as many offers, it may be worth revisiting pricing strategies as buyers continue searching for homes that fit their budgets.”
