US home listings worth nearly $700 billion — a new record
Of that total, close to half — $330 billion — is tied up in stale listings as buyers remain hesitant despite rising inventory, according to a Redfin report.
The total value of homes listed for sale in the U.S. surged to $698 billion in April, a 20.3% increase from the same time last year, a new report from Redfin found.
This new record total comes as supply continues to increase, homes linger on the market longer and buyer demand remains tepid, the Seattle-based brokerage noted.
Prices are still climbing — for now: Redfin's analysis, which tracks active listings dating back to 2012, measures total market value by summing up the list prices of all homes available at the end of each month. The data for April indicates the housing market is cooling after years of feverish activity and transitioning into what many are calling a buyers market.
Despite increasing supply and declining demand, prices have continued to undergo a modest rise, with the median home sale price increasing 1.4% year-over-year in April. This mix of high inventory, sluggish sales and economic pressure could push prices down slightly in the months ahead, the report suggests.
"We expect rising inventory, weakened demand, and the prevalence of stale supply to push home prices down 1% by the end of this year," said Chen Zhao, Redfin's head of economics research. The sharp increase in the total value of available inventory is driven more by volume than price, Zhao added, signaling a broader shift in market conditions.
Inventory hits a 5-year high: The rise in inventory could offer some hope for prospective buyers who have been waiting for an uptick in supply to help balance the market. The number of homes for sale nationwide jumped 16.7% year-over-year in April — the highest level since 2020, the report noted. New listings also rose 8.6%, a three-year high.
The supply influx is partly attributable to growing economic uncertainty, which has prompted some owners to cash out while prices are still high, and the easing of the persistent mortgage rate lock-in effect, which has left some homeowners with low mortgage rates reluctant to sell.
Homes are starting to languish on the market: The combination of higher inventory and lower buyer activity has translated to some homes sitting on the market for longer stretches of time, signaling a major shift from the bidding wars common in 2021 and 2022. In April, the typical home that sold went under contract after 40 days, Redfin researchers noted — up from 35 days a year prior.
Meanwhile, 44% of listings had already spent 60 days or more on the market. The share of what Redfin researchers termed "stale inventory" was up from 42.1% a year earlier and was the largest share for the month of April since 2020. In total, stale inventory represented $331 billion in unsold homes — nearly half of the overall market value.
But does a glut of aging listings signal an opportunity for buyers, or does it indicate that buyers don't like what they're seeing? It could be both, suggested Matt Purdy, a Redfin Premier agent in the Denver market.
"House hunters are only buying if they absolutely have to, and even serious buyers are backing out of contracts more than they used to," Purdy said. "Buyers have a window to get a deal; there's still a surplus of inventory on the market, with sellers facing reality and willing to negotiate prices down."