Realtor.com Report: Early Indications Show a Promising Spring Real Estate Season
SANTA CLARA, CA– According to Realtor.com’s February housing report released today (March 5), the spring housing market is shaping up to be an active one for prospective homebuyers. In fact, there were 14.8% more homes actively for sale on a typical day in February compared to the same time in 2023, which marks the fourth consecutive month of annual inventory growth.
“The first couple of months of 2024 have proven to be positive for inventory levels, as the number of homes actively for sale was at its highest level since 2020,” said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist of Realtor.com. “While the country is still well below pre-pandemic levels, the South is leading the charge, moving faster than other parts of the country, largely driving the increase in availability of homes priced between $200,000 and $350,000, a price category that saw the most year-over-year growth nationally.”
The national median listing price in February was up 0.3% to $415,500, while acting listings were 14.8% higher than a year ago and new listings rose 11.3% as compared to February 2023.
The New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY, NJ-PA market posted a median listing price in February of $750,000 up 10.2% year-over-year. The market’s active listing count was down 9.9% and its new listings were 3.1% lower in February as compared to 12 months earlier.
Affordable Home Inventory Grows
Homes in the $200,000 to $350,000 price range nationwide grew by 20.6% compared to last year, outpacing all other price categories. For home shoppers looking for affordable options, this may lead to particularly favorable home buying conditions. And, though the market is still a ways away from pre-pandemic levels, homebuyers may anticipate more options to choose from, compared to recent years, heading into the hot spring homebuying season especially in this category, the report stated.
Southern Metros See the Most Inventory Growth
The inventory of homes actively for sale increased in 29 out of 50 of the largest metros compared to last year. Orlando (+38.5%), Miami (37.4%) and Tampa (36.3%) experienced the most inventory growth. While most metros are still seeing lower inventory levels when compared to pre-pandemic years, three metros actually saw higher levels of inventory in February compared to typical 2017 to 2019 levels. The top three were in the South, particularly in Texas: San Antonio (+26.6%), Austin (+10.8%), and Dallas (+2.2%).
Mortgage Rates Remain in Flux, but Sellers are Ready to Move
As mortgage rates continue to shift, home sales have been sensitive to the fluctuations. While rates declined abruptly in November and December they steadied around 6.6% in January and early February, before climbing higher following a hot inflation report, most recently hitting 6.94%.
Additionally, the percentage of homes with price reductions increased from 13.2% in February of last year to 14.6% this year, marking the first time the share of price reductions had increased over the previous year since May of 2023. In fact, newly listed homes were 11.3% above last year's levels for the fourth month of increasing-listing activity after a 17-month streak of decline.
