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As summer winds down, homebuyers looking to purchase property are facing more favorable market conditions, with new listings on the rise and prices leveling off.
For the week ending Aug. 9, overall inventory continued to grow and fresh listings hit the market, reviving hopes for a stronger finish to an otherwise sluggish selling season hampered by stubbornly high housing costs, says Realtor.com® Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones.
Mortgage rates have been trending down in recent weeks, declining to a 10-month low of 6.58% on Thursday, down from 6.63% the week before, despite concerns about the latest inflation data not showing the softening price growth many had hoped for.
Meanwhile, Home Purchase Sentiment improved in July, signaling that prospective buyers could be drawn back into the market if more budget-friendly options become available.
As reluctant home shoppers wait on the sidelines for the housing market to tilt in their favor in a decisive way, they can turn to more affordable rentals, with monthly prices continuing to retreat.
New listings rebound on seller activity
Fresh home listings—a measure of owners putting properties up for sale—saw an annual increase of 6.4% last week, up from 1.7% for the week ending Aug. 2.
“This marks a pick up compared to the previous week, though the number of new listings remains below the spring and early summer norm,” notes Jones.
Despite the uptick, the analyst explains that homeowners are reluctant to venture into the market, as for-sale homes pile up and buyers keep away because of affordability concerns.
The overall number of homes for sale climbed 22.1% from the same period a year ago, representing a slight softening from the week before for the eighth straight week.
Still, last week was the 92nd consecutive week of annual gains in inventory, with roughly 1.1 million homes available for sale.
“Active inventory is growing significantly faster than new listings, an indication that more homes are sitting on the market for longer,” says Jones.
Home prices flatten as listings linger
The median list price last week was the same as a year ago. For comparison, during the week ending Aug. 2, the price saw a 0.8% year-over-year increase.
At the same time, the median list price per square foot, which accounts for changes in home size, inched up 0.4% from the same period in 2024, carrying on its nearly two-year growth trend.
“Price per square foot growth is outpacing overall price growth, suggesting that underlying home values are stable,” according to Jones.
The typical home languished unsold six days longer than a year ago—same as a week prior, pointing to a stagnation in the market.
“The pace of home sales has been sluggish this summer as still-high housing costs and general economic uncertainty deterred would-be buyers,” says Jones.” Facing dwindling buyer interest, many sellers are adjusting course, lowering prices or rethinking whether to sell at all.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this summer has seen a rise in both climbing price reductions and delistings reflecting seller maneuvering.