New listings increased +5.5% y/y and +10.9% m/m in June, according to com. More supply could cool home prices.
“Good News on Horizon for Buyers”
A new report from realtor.com indicates the national housing shortage that has plagued thousands of potential buyers and caused home prices to soar may be easing.
Realtor.com’s report indicates that housing supply increased +5.5% y/y and a whopping +10.9% m/m from May to June. In addition to giving potential buyers more home choices, such an ease in supply could, over the longer term, begin to cool home prices.
George Ratiu, senior economist with realtor.com, said, “Although there’s still a significant shortage of homes for sale and home prices just hit a new high, our June data report shows good news on the horizon for buyers. Inventory declines improved over the steep drops seen earlier in the pandemic as sellers stepped back into the market in a variety of price ranges across the country.”
Ratiu added, “The improvement we saw in new listings growth from May to June shows sellers are entering the market historically later in the season, which could mean we’ll see home buying continue into the fall as buyers jump at new opportunities.”
Inventory Remains Lean But Easing
The supply of for-sale homes was down -43.1% y/y at the end of May. This -43.1% translates into there being 415,000 fewer for-sale homes for buyers to consider in June. However, -43.1% is a major improvement over the more than -50% supply declines seen in March, April and May.
For the week ending June 26 2021, new listings increased +12% while still remaining -39% below last year’s listings during the same week. June 26 2021 was the 12th consecutive week of smaller y/y new listings decline.
Jennifer Myers, founder and owner of Dwell Real Estate Brokerage in Washington DC, said, “What I’m seeing is the market is easing ever so slightly. That means that more people are going under contract for their next home, which in turn means more listings are coming up because those people are now able to sell their current home.”
Cities with Largest Increases in New Listings
Many of the cities seeing the largest increases in new listings are located in the Midwest. Take a look:
- Milwaukee – +45% increase in listings
- Cleveland -+37.9%
- Columbus OH – +26%
Other cities seeing increases in new listings include San Jose CA with a listings spike of +41% m/m in June and Phoenix, strong throughout the pandemic, saw an increase of +28% in new listings m/m.
Regionally, newly listed homes in large metros in the Midwest, West and Northeast increased by +19.6%, 18.4% and +9.9% y/y, respectively.
Cities with Largest Decreases in New Listings
Southern cities such as Raleigh NC (-21.4%) and Nashville TN (-24.2%) experienced sizable declines in new listings on a month-to-month basis in June. Also, Miami, a popular destination for New Yorkers exiting the big city during the pandemic, experienced a decline of -7.8% of new listings m/m in June.
Thanks to realtor.com and CNBC.
