Buyers often set their sights on spring, but unless sellers join in, this year’s shoppers will have 50% fewer homes, on average, to consider buying.
WASHINGTON – If buyers are struggling to find a home for sale, at least they’re not alone. For every 10 homes listed for sale last year, there are fewer than five today. Nationwide, home shoppers this spring have 52% fewer homes to choose from than last year’s home shoppers did – and they’re facing record-breaking prices, according to realtor.com’s latest Monthly Housing Trends Report.
In some Florida cities, the problem is even worse, with Jacksonville at the top of the list. According to realtor.com, their ad site has almost 71% fewer listings for Northeast Florida shoppers than it did last year
Florida cities’ year-to-year changes on realtor.com
- Jacksonville: Prices up 10.4%, number of listings down 70.7%
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach: Prices down 1.2%, number of listings down 42%
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford: Prices up 11.75%, number of listings down 45.8%
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: Prices up 15.2%, number of listings down 69.9%
Because of high demand and low inventory, “home prices have skyrocketed, shattering previous records,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com’s chief economist. “We expect to see more sellers emerge in the weeks ahead, which should give buyers more options. Homes will likely continue to sell fast, but increasing interest rates and monthly costs could slow the pace of price gains unless we see a boost in demand from equity-rich repeat buyers.”
Homebuyers appear to be in a hurry, trying to buy before any further increases in home prices and mortgage rates, which have moved above their sub-3% averages over recent weeks.
But finding a home hasn’t been easy. “In many areas of the country, there are half as many available homes for sale than a year ago – and in some markets that number increases to less than one-third,” Hale says.
Source: National Association of Realtors® (NAR)
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