As fall approaches, the real estate markets typically slow. That’s not the case, however, for today’s markets, which are seeing a frenzy of buyer activity and multiple-offer scenarios driven by a lack of inventory.
According to realtor.com®’s August Monthly Housing Trends report, available inventory declined 36 percent in August year-over-year, with new listings down 12 percent YoY. At the end of August, there were almost 500,000 fewer homes for sale on the market compared to last year.
“It’s difficult to imagine that the housing market will be able to sustain the frenzied demand we are currently experiencing, but we have yet to see any signs of slowing,” said Danielle Hale, realtor.com® chief economist. “Buyer traffic on realtor.com® is outpacing the record levels we saw earlier this year, suggesting that demand will continue to exceed the number of available homes for sale. Although demand is much more intense than it normally is this late into a buying season, the typical home asking price has likely peaked for the year at $350,000. However, given the strong demand, sellers will remain in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future.”
The Northeast is leading the price gain—listings prices up almost 19 percent in Philadelphia, 14.7 percent in Boston and 12.2 percent in Providence-Warwick. On the West Coast, San Francisco experienced an increase of 12 percent for listing prices. Overall, listing prices in the largest metros of the U.S. increased by an average of 8.9 percent YoY—up from 7.8 percent in July. Forty-nine metros also saw YoY increased in median listing prices in August.
