Our research team releases regular monthly housing trends reports. These reports break down inventory metrics like the number of active listings and the pace of the market. In addition, we continue to give readers more timely weekly updates, an effort that began in response to the rapid changes in the economy and housing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, you can look forward to a Weekly Housing Trends View and the latest weekly housing data on Thursdays with a weekly video update from our economists on Fridays. Here’s what the housing market looked like over the last week.
What this Week’s Data Means:
Homeowners continue to be more hesitant to list homes for sale this year compared to last as soaring mortgage rates have shifted the market. Buyers are less eager as they navigate much higher costs for similar homes. This pullback from sellers has slowed but not stopped the increase in the number of homes for-sale on the market creating a mixed bag for home shoppers.
In this week that is typically rated the best time to buy for its seasonally advantageous mix of available homes and motivated sellers, shoppers face challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, shoppers who aren’t excited about what’s available aren’t seeing quite as many “just listed” homes from week to week which can be draining for shoppers with very specific must-have lists. On the other hand, home shoppers have more for-sale homes to choose from this year, and these homes are generally on the market longer than they were last year, which may create better opportunities for negotiation on price for those who are more flexible about what they need to have in their next home.
Key Findings:
- The median listing price grew by 13.3% over last year. The typical asking price of for-sale homes continues to exceed last year’s level by double-digits, hitting a 40th week at double-digit pace. However, buyers who have been searching for a while will note that the pace of year over year growth has slowed, a sign of prices beginning to adjust to soaring mortgage rates that have hampered the purchasing power of buyers. As shown in our September Housing Trends Report, the median list price was down $23,000 from June’s all-time high of $450,000.
- New listings–a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale–were again down, dropping 17% from one year ago. This week marks the thirteenth straight week of year over year declines in the number of new listings coming up for sale. As mortgage rates near 7 percent, which is a level not seen in more than two decades, sellers who are also trying to buy a home, nearly 3 of every 4 potential sellers, have had to alter their trade-up plans. It appears that many have put selling on hold despite record levels of home equity, as higher mortgage rates and home prices sap purchasing power.
- Active inventory continued to grow, increasing 30% above one year ago. Highlighting the roller coaster ride that the housing market and its participants have been on in the last few years, one’s take on the current number of homes for sale depends very much on the comparison point. After a period of unusually hot activity, financial conditions are cooling demand in the housing market and there are substantially more homes for-sale compared to one year ago. However, the market still falls short of pre-pandemic inventory levels by an even greater amount. The Realtor.com September Housing Trends Report showed that the active listings count still trails its 2019, pre-pandemic level by more than 40%. One bright note for buyers is that the improvements have been steady in recent weeks, meaning more homes for sale on the horizon as the market rebalances.
- Homes spent six extra days on the market compared to this time last year. For the tenth week in a row, homes are sitting on the market for a longer time than last year. This means that buyers will have more time than last year or earlier this year to think through their options before missing out. In fact, slower seasonal time on market is one of the reasons that this last week of September is rated the Best Time to Buy for home shoppers. However, as highlighted in our September Housing Trends Report, homes are selling more than two weeks faster than they did in 2019. As a result, buyers who are prepared to act quickly with their finances in order and their pre-approval ready to go, will still have an edge.
Data Summary:
| All Changes year-over-year | Year-to-Date 2022 | Week ending Sep 17, 2022 | Week ending Sep 24, 2022 | Week ending Oct 1, 2022 |
| Median Listing Prices | +14.1% | +14.4% | +13.3% | +13.3% |
| New Listings | -4% | -12% | -10% | -17% |
| Active Listings | +3% | +27% | +29% | +30% |
| Time on Market | 5 days faster | 6 days slower | 6 days slower | 6 days slower |
Note: With the release of its September 2022 Housing Trends Report, Realtor.com® incorporated a new and improved methodology for capturing and reporting housing inventory trends and metrics. The new methodology updates and improves the calculation of time on market and improves handling of duplicate listings. Most areas across the country will see minor changes with a smaller handful of areas seeing larger updates. As a result of these changes, the data released since September 29, 2022 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases (files downloaded before September 29, 2022) and Realtor.com® economics blog posts. However, future data releases, including historical data, will consistently apply the new methodology.
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