Housing Inventory Hits Highest Level Since May 2020

With fall approaching, home shoppers will see a plethora of options this buying season as housing inventory hits the highest level seen since May 2020, according to Realtor.com® data.

Realtor.com®’s August Housing Trends Report found that the number of homes actively for sale grew by 35.8% year-over-year, the 10th straight month of growth and the highest level seen since May 2020. August’s reading is a slight deceleration from July’s reading of 36.6%, and was the second consecutive month of slowdown.

“In April we noted that rising for-sale inventory was likely to lead to more balance between buyers and sellers. This August, as the number of homes on the market continues to climb, price cuts are more common, asking prices are moderating, and homes are taking longer to sell,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®. “The widely anticipated Fed rate cut has already ushered in lower mortgage rates, but it seems that some buyers and sellers are waiting for additional declines.” 

The report also found that new listings decreased 0.9% YoY, and were down 20% from 2019. Additionally, the median listing price fell 1.3% to $429,990, but was up 36.2% from 2019. Median days on the market grew by seven days to 53, down six days from 2019. The share of active listings with price reductions rose by 3 percentage points to 19.2%, up 1.8 percentage points from 2019.

“We have found that the market slows by about one day for every 5.5 percentage point increase in the year-over-year number of active listings,” said Ralph McLaughin, senior economist at Realtor.com®. “Given the rapid growth in inventory we’re seeing now, that can mean changes in some markets of up to 15-20 more days on the market than last year.”

All four regions continue to see inventory growth compared to last year, however, the South and West have seen the most recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels. Realtor.com® found that active listings grew by 46% in the South, 35.7% in the West, 23.8% in the Midwest and 15.1% in the Northeast. Compared with pre-pandemic levels, inventory is 12.2% lower in the South, 16.6% lower in the West, 44.9% lower in the Midwest and 54.5% lower in the Northeast. 

Of the 50 largest metro areas tracked in the report, 11 had higher levels of inventory in August compared with pre-pandemic levels, including Austin (+36.6%), Memphis (+28.7%) and San Antonio (+25.2%). 

“As the market slows seasonally, fall is one of the best times to buy a house,” concluded Hale. “Falling mortgage rates are likely to bring out additional home shoppers and a busier fall season than usual, but the boost in activity is unlikely to overwhelm the usual seasonal slowdown. Shoppers, who are out this fall, are likely to face lower competition than is expected in spring 2025 as more shoppers anticipate better mortgage rates.”

For the full report, click here.