Housing inventory jumped by 31% (year-over-year) last month, a record-high growth rate according to Bloomberg.com. The sharp slowdown in sales suggests the fed’s interest rate hike has sidelined many prospective buyers.
Nevertheless, overall real estate inventory remains lower than it was before the COVID lockdowns and median list prices are still 17% higher than they were at this time last year.
According to Bloomberg,
Inventory has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. And even as options increase, competition for homes remains strong, keeping prices elevated. The nationwide median list price in July was $449,000, up 17% from a year earlier and close to the all-time high reached in June. The affordability crunch and remote-work policies have been pushing some people to relocate to less-expensive areas. New listings last month contracted for the first time since March, down 2.8% from a year earlier, suggesting some owners are reconsidering their plans to list with the market shift.
According to Ali Wolf, an economist for Zonda Homes, “we may see a period where supply may exceed demand for a while in some of the markets that were the most feverish over the past two years.”
Law Office of Justin R. McCarthy 